Six people, five adults and one child, died when a Piper PA-46 crashed in a densely wooded area of the Town of Dellona, Sauk County, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night, Oct. 13, 2026. The NTSB’s preliminary information says the pilot reported icing at 24,000 feet and asked to descend before contact was lost.
The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said its dispatch center received multiple reports of a downed aircraft at about 9:30 p.m. Capt. Matt Burch told WKOW the calls began coming in at 9:31 p.m. All six occupants were found dead at the scene. Their names have not been released.
NTSB Details the Plane’s Final Minutes
The plane was on a return trip from Kenosha to Menomonie. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, citing FlightAware, reported it left Kenosha Regional Airport around 8:45 p.m.; the New York Post, also citing FlightAware, put the departure just before 9 p.m.
According to preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane was flying at 24,000 feet when the pilot reported icing and requested to descend.
The board said Air traffic control approved the descent, and the aircraft entered a right descending turn that increased in rate until communications and data tracking were lost.
The board’s wording says the pilot asked to descend. The New York Post wrote that he asked to land at a nearby airport, a detail the NTSB language carried by other outlets does not include.
The FAA, cited by WMTV, says in-flight icing can distort airflow over a wing, add drag and affect handling. It can also cause a stall at higher speeds and lower angles of attack than normal, the agency said, producing movements that may make recovery impossible.
No source says icing caused this crash.
Neighbors Searched Before Deputies Arrived
Burch said several neighbors were already combing the area after hearing what they believed was a crash, and witnesses reported seeing a low-flying plane. Deputies found the wreckage fairly quickly, near Park Lane and west of Herwig Road. No homes were damaged and no one on the ground was hurt, officials said.
Outlets placed the site differently: near Reedsburg (ABC News), near Mirror Lake State Park, and about 10 miles west of Wisconsin Dells (MPR News). MPR also reported rain and a thunderstorm moving through the Town of Dellona. Officials have said only that they are checking whether weather played a role.
Lake Delton Police Department, Delton Fire Department, Dells/Delton EMS, the Sauk County Coroner’s Office and Wisconsin State Patrol assisted the sheriff’s office.
Investigators Review Tower Contact Before Crash
The plane was in contact with a nearby air traffic control tower before the crash. Sheriff Chip Meister told FOX6 Milwaukee:
We know that they had contact with the tower prior to the crash and investigators are looking into that today to find out what that communication was.
Chip Meister, Sauk County Sheriff
Meister said it was unclear who owned the aircraft but that it was not a commercial plane. The FAA and NTSB are investigating, with the NTSB leading, according to an FAA statement cited by ABC News.
An NTSB team was due at the site Wednesday to document the scene and examine the aircraft, which will be moved to a secure facility. WMTV reported the board will gather flight track data, recordings of air traffic control communications, maintenance records and information on the pilot, and will take witness accounts. It asked witnesses and anyone with video to email witness@ntsb.gov.
The NTSB said it will not determine cause during its on-scene work or identify the victims. A preliminary report is due within 30 days. Probable cause and contributing factors will come in the final report, expected in 12 to 24 months.
Still unanswered: who the victims were, who was flying, and what the pilot and controller said beyond the NTSB’s summary. The sheriff’s office said identities are being withheld pending family notification.
Wisconsin Has Had Fatal Crashes Every Year Since 1968
The Journal Sentinel, citing NTSB data, reported that fatal plane crashes have occurred in Wisconsin every year since 1968. The most recent crash with more than five deaths was in July 2017 in Catawba, which killed six. The deadliest, on Aug. 29, 1948, killed 33 passengers and four crew members at Fountain City after a Northwest Orient Airlines flight suffered structural failure in its left wing.