Six people, including five adults and one child, were killed when a fixed-wing Piper plane crashed in the town of Dellona in Sauk County, Wis., at around 9:31 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office said.
All six occupants were found dead at the scene near Mirror Lake State Park, officials said. They were not immediately identified.
Police scanner audio captured the scene that greeted responders. “I’ve got, uh, looks like, definitely an airplane seat of some sort with deceased in the front yard,” one officer said.
Pilot Reported Icing at 24,000 Feet
The plane was flying from Kenosha to Menomonie, Wis., and had departed Kenosha Regional Airport just before 9 p.m., according to FlightAware. It was cruising at around 24,000 feet when the pilot reported icing on the aircraft and asked for permission to land at a nearby airport, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.
Air traffic controllers approved the landing and stayed in radio contact with the pilot until communications and tracking data were suddenly lost, according to the agency. The aircraft had been in contact with a nearby control tower just before the crash.
Two Other Crashes Killed Six This Year
The toll matches that of two other disasters in 2026. A Bombardier CL600 private jet crashed on takeoff at Bangor International Airport in Maine at around 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, during a snowstorm, flipping over and catching fire. The jet had landed to refuel on a flight from Houston to Paris. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initially said eight people were believed to be aboard with seven killed, then agreed with local first responders and airport officials that six were on board and that all of them died.
Airport crews had been clearing snow from the runway and tarmac and de-icing planes as a nor’easter moved in, and numerous Northeast flights were canceled. The airport stayed closed until at least noon Tuesday, Jan. 27, while investigators examined weather conditions, mechanical failure and pilot error as possible causes.
Six U.S. crew members were also killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq on Thursday, March 12, while supporting operations against Iran. U.S. Central Command said the loss was not due to hostile or friendly fire and followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace.” The other plane landed safely.
The military identified the dead as Maj. John A. “Alex” Klinner, 33, of Birmingham, Ala.; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky.; Capt. Ariana Linse Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, a resident of Stoutsville, Ohio, who was originally from Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Columbus, Ohio; and Master Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus. Three were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., and three were with the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus.
“To lose them at the same time is unimaginable,” U.S. Air Force Col. Ed Szczepanik, commander of the 6th Air Refueling Wing, Szczepanik said in a news release.
President Donald Trump attended the dignified transfer for the six airmen at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, March 18, his second such visit since launching the war with Iran on Feb. 28. He spent just under two hours on the ground and did not speak to reporters, and the ceremony was closed to news media coverage at the request of the families. The crash brought the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members, and the Pentagon said about 200 U.S. service members had been injured, including 10 severely.
What Investigators Will Examine in Wisconsin
The FAA and the NTSB were notified of the Dellona crash and will lead the investigation into its cause. The NTSB said it will review the full communications and tracking data from the air traffic control tower, as well as the weather conditions that caused the icing on the plane.
Investigators will also examine the pilot’s flight history and the plane’s maintenance records for clues, the agency said. A preliminary report on the crash will be available within 30 days.