Six people, including five adults and one child, died Tuesday night when a fixed-wing Piper airplane crashed in a densely wooded area of the Town of Dellona in Sauk County, Wisconsin, following a return flight from Kenosha.
Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister confirmed that five adults and one child were killed in the impact, with no survivors found inside the six-passenger plane.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene late Tuesday, October 13, 2026, after dispatchers received a flurry of emergency calls reporting a downed aircraft in the area of Mirror Lake State Park outside of the Wisconsin Dells. The Sauk County Dispatch Center received multiple reports about 9:30 p.m. of a downed aircraft, with Sauk County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Matt Burch noting that calls about a possible crash came in around 9:31 p.m. The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that deputies and emergency crews located the wreckage north of Park Lane and west of Herwig Road.
The aircraft involved was a fixed-wing Piper identified by the FAA as a PA-46, carrying six occupants on a return trip from Kenosha to Menomonie. Flight tracking data indicates the plane departed Kenosha Regional Airport shortly before 9 p.m.
Responders Search Wreckage in Dellona
First responders arrived to find the aircraft scattered across a heavily wooded residential neighborhood near Reedsburg and Lake Delton. When deputies reached the area, several neighbors were already looking for the crash site after hearing a loud noise they believed came from a plane, and witnesses reported seeing a low-flying aircraft beforehand. Police scanner traffic captured the grim reality of the initial search as first responders described aircraft components and victims among the trees.
Authorities verified that no individuals were discovered outside the wreckage and that the crash did not damage any nearby homes or structures on the ground.
The multi-agency response involved numerous local and state units. Officials noted the area would remain closed through midday Wednesday to allow emergency operations and investigative work to continue.
Investigators Examine Weather and Radio Logs
Federal aviation authorities are examining what transpired in the moments leading up to the disaster. Investigators are specifically reviewing whether local weather conditions played a role and what was said during communications between the cockpit and air traffic controllers.
Sheriff’s Captain Matt Burch reiterated that investigators are working to determine the exact content of those radio transmissions alongside potential weather impacts. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have stepped in to lead the inquiry, with the NTSB heading the investigation into the cause of the accident.
Authorities have withheld the identities of the six victims pending family notifications, and the crash site remained secured through midday Wednesday to allow federal and local investigators to process the wooded terrain.