Six people, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed when a single-engine Piper PA-46 crashed in woods near Reedsburg, Wisconsin, on the night of Tuesday, October 13. The pilot had reported ice building up at 24,000 feet and asked to descend moments before the plane was lost, according to preliminary information from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NTSB is leading the investigation with the FAA. The cause has not been determined.
What happened to the plane?
The six-seat plane, identified by the Associated Press as a PA-46 Malibu, was flying home from Kenosha to Menomonie in western Wisconsin.
According to the NTSB, the pilot reported icing at 24,000 feet and requested a lower altitude. Air traffic control approved the descent. The plane then entered a right descending turn that steepened until radio contact and radar tracking were lost.
FlightRadar24 data showed the plane dropping at up to 4,000 feet per minute while its speed nearly doubled to about 340 mph, the AP reported. Rain from a passing thunderstorm was falling in the area.
The Sauk County Dispatch Center received reports of a downed plane shortly after 9:30 p.m. Deputies found the wreckage in a remote, heavily forested area near Mirror Lake State Park in the Town of Dellona, about 10 miles west of Wisconsin Dells. All six people aboard were dead.
No one on the ground was hurt and no buildings were damaged.
Who were the victims?
The Sauk County Sheriff's Office released the victims' names on Thursday, ABC News reported:
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Ronald R. Riek | 63 |
| Tyler J. Harvey | 36 |
| Mary K. Brion | 67 |
| Amanda M. Haremza | 45 |
| Rylan Haremza | 13 |
| Kayla C. Turpin | 39 |
Officials have not said who was flying the plane or how the passengers were connected.
Was icing to blame?
Investigators have not said. But one former investigator said the early evidence points that way. "It has all the earmarks of an icing-related loss of control," Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and FAA investigator, told the AP.
Ice on a plane's wings changes their shape and can sharply cut the lift they produce. It can also block the sensors pilots rely on for airspeed.
The PA-46 family has a history with the problem. The NTSB reviewed seven icing-related crashes involving Malibu and Mirage models between 1989 and 1991. It recommended changes to pilot training, checklists and manuals, and an indicator light for pitot-tube heating, the AP reported.
What happens next?
NTSB investigators went to the crash site to document the wreckage. The board said a preliminary report is expected within 30 days. That report will describe the flight, weather and radar data. A final report with a probable cause usually takes a year or more.
Sheriff's officials said they were also working to learn what was said in the pilot's transmissions to air traffic control and whether weather contributed. "No further information will be released at this time, and the investigation is ongoing," the sheriff's office said.
For another recent NTSB investigation, see our report on the Boston Logan near-collision.
