Six people — five adults and one child — died Tuesday night, Oct. 13, when a small plane crashed in a wooded area near Mirror Lake State Park in the Town of Dellona, the Sauk County Sheriff's Office said.
The single-engine Piper was on a return flight from Kenosha to Menomonie and had taken off from Kenosha shortly before 9 p.m. Dispatchers began receiving reports of a downed aircraft around 9:30 p.m.
Federal investigators say the pilot reported icing while flying at 24,000 feet and asked to descend. After controllers approved the request, the plane entered a right turn that steepened until communication and tracking were lost.
The pilot has been identified as Ronald Riek of Woodville, an experienced pilot who ran a warehousing business. The aircraft was registered to a Baldwin-based company, according to federal aviation records.
No one on the ground was injured and no buildings were damaged. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation, and a preliminary report is expected within about 30 days.
