Five adults and a child are dead after a plane crashed Tuesday evening in the Sauk County town of Dellona.
SAUK COUNTY, Wis. (WKOW) — Five adults and a child are dead after a plane crashed in the Sauk County town of Dellona Tuesday evening.
Capt. Matt Burch of the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said calls about a possible accident came in around 9:31 p.m.
When deputies arrived, several neighbors were already searching the area after hearing what they thought was a plane crash. Witnesses also reported seeing a plane flying at low altitude.
Burch said deputies located the crash site fairly quickly, located north of Park Lane and west of Herwig Road in a densely wooded area. No homes were damaged and authorities said there were no casualties outside the plane.
Authorities learned it was a fixed-wing Piper PA 46 making a round trip from Kenosha to Menomonie.
Before the crash, the plane was reportedly in contact with a nearby air traffic control tower. Investigators are working to learn what the content of those transmissions was and whether a weather event in the area may have played a role in the crash, Burch said.
The area will remain closed until midday on Wednesday. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities will release the names of the deceased at a later date.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are assisting in the investigation.
According to preliminary information from the NTSB, “the plane was flying at 24,000 feet when the pilot reported icing and requested to descend.”
The report states: “Air traffic control approved the descent and the aircraft began a descending right turn that increased in speed until communications and data tracking were lost. »
A team of NTSB investigators is arriving Wednesday to document the scene and examine the plane. The aircraft will be taken to a secure facility for further evaluation.
Witnesses to the crash or those who have surveillance video or other information that may be relevant to the investigation are asked to contact the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
A preliminary report will be published within 30 days. The probable cause of the accident and any contributing factors will be included in the final report, which can be expected in 12 to 24 months, the NTSB said.
The Lake Delton Police Department, Delton Fire Department, Dells/Delton EMS, Sauk County Coroner’s Office and the Wisconsin State Patrol assisted the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office in responding.
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