Six people are dead after a small plane slammed into a densely wooded area near Wisconsin Dells. The victims, which include a child, were found at the scene in the Town of Dellona.
The Piper PA-46 was en route from Kenosha to Menomonie when it went down. Sauk County Sheriff’s Department deputies received multiple reports of the downed aircraft around 9:30 pm local time on Tuesday. By the time emergency personnel located the wreckage, all six occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.
Weather is now a central focus of the probe. Rain was falling as a thunderstorm moved through the region at the time of the crash. The plane had been in contact with a nearby air traffic control tower prior to the incident, and investigators are currently reviewing those transmissions to establish exactly what was communicated before the jet lost contact.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the inquiry, with the Federal Aviation Administration assisting. No injuries were reported on the ground, and authorities confirmed there was no damage to nearby buildings. The identities of the six victims have not yet been released.
The sheriff’s department said names would be made public at a later time. For now, the crash site remains a focal point for forensic teams working to reconstruct the final minutes of the flight.