But I can't...that is just my lousy memory!!! Thanks for that correction...:)
Posted on 10/21/2026 6:36:06 AM PDT by Red Badger
The pilot of a small plane flying over Wisconsin reported ice building up on the aircraft's wings and requested permission to descend, according to the Sauk County Sheriff's Office. A short time later, the plane crashed, killing all six people aboard, including a child.
The Piper PA-46 went down Tuesday night, Oct. 13, in a wooded area near Mirror Lake State Park, about 10 miles west of Wisconsin Dells. The aircraft had been traveling from Kenosha to Menomonie.
The pilot reported the ice accumulation while flying at approximately 24,000 feet. Air traffic control cleared the aircraft to descend, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported. The plane subsequently entered an increasingly rapid descending right turn before communication and tracking were lost, according to The Associated Press.
Rain was falling and thunderstorms were moving through the area. Emergency dispatchers received reports of a downed aircraft around 9:31 p.m., and rescue crews located the wreckage in dense woods in the town of Dellona.
All five adults and one child aboard were found dead. No one on the ground was injured, and no buildings were damaged, according to the Sauk County Sheriff's Office.
The AP reported that longtime pilot and local business owner Ron Riek was among those killed. The remaining five victims have not yet been publicly identified.
Investigators have not determined whether ice contributed to the crash.
How can ice make a plane dangerous to fly?
Even a relatively thin layer of ice can dramatically affect an aircraft's performance by changing the shape of its wings and disrupting the airflow that keeps it aloft. Aircraft wings are designed to generate lift, the force that helps keep a plane in the air. When ice accumulates, it can reduce lift while increasing drag, the resistance an aircraft must overcome to move forward.
The result can be a higher stall speed, meaning the plane needs to fly faster to maintain sufficient lift. Ice can also interfere with flight controls, sensors and engine performance. The Federal Aviation Administration warns that under some conditions, just half an inch of ice can reduce the lifting ability of certain aircraft by 50%.
Ice can form during flight when an aircraft encounters clouds containing supercooled water droplets. These droplets remain liquid even at temperatures below freezing but can freeze on contact with an aircraft. That means dangerous icing can develop thousands of feet above an airport, even when temperatures on the ground are well above 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why deicing matters
Deicing is an essential safety precaution before takeoff whenever ice, snow or frost accumulates on an aircraft. Ground crews typically spray planes with heated deicing fluids to remove frozen buildup. Anti-icing fluids may then be applied to temporarily prevent new ice from forming before departure.
But preventing ice accumulation on the ground is different from protecting an aircraft once it's airborne. Many aircraft are equipped with in-flight ice protection systems, including heated surfaces or inflatable rubber devices that break ice away from the edges of wings.
The NTSB is investigating the Wisconsin crash, including the aircraft's performance, weather conditions and the circumstances surrounding the pilot's report of icing. A final determination of the cause has not been made.
Aviation Ping...............😢
Wow! I can’t imagine the horror of knowing that death is almost certain and there’s nothing that can be done about it - and from 4+ miles up in the air.
Wonder if his de-ice boots were working - or maybe were just overcome.
Yep, the plane likely broke apart well before hitting the ground.
My understanding is that they flew into a thunderstorm, iced up and then broke up from turbulence and exceeding vne.
(from the article)
"The plane subsequently entered an increasingly rapid descending right turn before communication and tracking were lost(.)"
Even more terrifying...
But a pilot needs to be a little more pro-active with his anti-icing procedures.
Yeah, like stay out of it.
Question for pilots on here: If you know your wings could be icing, wouldn’t it help to use flaps to increase lift?
I don’t know this, but I suspect you aren’t supposed to use flaps above a certain air speed as it could put too much stress on them, but it seems like it might help if you are desperate.
Thank you for the ping.
You are interested in aviation...have you ever seen the movie “Victor-Charlie-Romeo”?
It is a remarkable movie, which was adapted from a stage play. They simply took the cockpit voice recorder data (which is where the title came from) of six notable aviation accidents, set up a cockpit crewed by the same type and number of actors on the stage that matched the plane involved in the accident, and acted out the scenario with the exact dialogue from the Voice Cockpit Recorder.
It is chilling and fascinating.
In particular, they discussed the Japanese airline flight where a 747 crashed into a mountain after they had an in-flight emergency that affected the ability to fly the plane.
It was remarkable, because in their portrayal of that accident where you’re looking at the flight deck of the 747 with the pilot, the copilot, the flight engineer, even the flight attendant, and also a pilot who happened to be flying on the plane and came up into the cockpit to help them…
They were talking to I think at least two possibly three different controllers, one military one, one civilian airport, possibly another civilian airport, I can’t remember. And they’re all talking at once. And in least two different languages, Japanese and English.
The absolute and total information overload that was taking place, trying to fly the damaged aircraft, people in different languages, speaking in both ears, at the same time, the screaming of the passengers and the messages of the flight attendant, the changing status of the fly ability of the airplane, and it’s Orientation in the air… All of those things happening simultaneously.
It really brought home to me, The confusion and the sensory overload with data of all kinds was frightening.
I brought this up, because one of the accidents was a smaller commuter aircraft, apparently a turbo prop of some kind that began to get ice buildup in a storm.
Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, it is a gripping and even frightening movie for anyone interested in aviation and how accidents happen.
(from the article)
"The plane subsequently entered an increasingly rapid descending right turn before communication and tracking were lost(.)"
I don't see where it says the plane "broke up." Are you Ass-U-Me-ing or do you have a source you're not telling us about?
More Ass-U-Me-ing?
The word ‘likely’ is the key to comprehension here. That was posited by KevinB.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4400019/posts?page=5#3
Still a good idea to avoid storms in a private plane.
the title is Charlie Victor Romeo. but any word order will get you to the correct movie.
I am only a beginning pilot, but I would say no, definitely not—don’t do that
But I can't...that is just my lousy memory!!! Thanks for that correction...:)
Most PA 46 Malibu came with one form of deicing or another but some didn’t and none can really deal with serious known icing conditions so it is a good idea to avoid icing conditions
This particular Malibu had left the factory with a piston engine but had been updated to a turbine engine so it may not have had all the systems of a factory turbo prop
I have had a number of friends get killed flying at night and getting caught in storms with icing . It’s really hard to see weather at night and if you get into icing at 24,000ft is very probable that descending is going to get you into worse conditions , not better
A 180 degree turn out of the weather and landing ASAP at a divert airport may have been a better course of action but flying through a thunder cloud with super cooled water droplets at FL24 at night can quickly get beyond the capabilities of the anti icing system on a pressurized single
Absolutely not, the last thing in the world you need is more drag.
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