Six people, including a child, were killed when a small plane crashed into a wooded residential area in Sauk County, Wisconsin, after the pilot reported icing conditions and requested permission to descend, according to officials.
The single-engine Piper PA-46 was returning from Kenosha to Menomonie when it crashed around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in a heavily wooded residential area near Dellona, about an hour north of Madison. All five adults and one child aboard were killed, Sauk County Sheriff’s office said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilot reported icing while flying at about 24,000 feet and asked air traffic control for permission to descend. After the request was approved, the aircraft entered a right-descending turn that increased in rate until communication and tracking data were lost.
The cause of the crash has not been determined. Investigators are examining the pilot, aircraft and operating environment, while the Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB are leading the investigation with help from state and local agencies.
Randi Kubek, a 60-year-old retired school principal who lives nearby, told The NYT she was in her bedroom with her two dogs when she heard the plane losing altitude.
Kubek said she heard an engine sputtering before a loud boom and saw a flash of light. The impact sounded like metal crumpling and shook her house, she said. She feared the plane would hit her home and heard sirens before she could call 911.
No one on the ground was injured, and no buildings were damaged, officials said.
The victims have not been publicly identified. Investigators are working to establish what happened during the plane’s final moments and determine what led to the fatal crash.