Oct. 15, 2026 7:30p
(WGTD/AP)---The people on the plane that crashed near Wisconsin Dells this week apparently had been in the Kenosha area to watch a volleyball game.
A grandmother, two adult daughters and her grandson were among the six people killed when the plane went down in a thunderstorm. They'd been enroute from the Kenosha Regional Airport back to their homes in northwest Wisconsin.
The Associated Press reports that 67 year-old Mary Brion, along with her two adult daughters and a 13 year-old grandson, had surprised Mary's granddaughters who played in a volleyball game in Salem Lakes.
They had an opportunity to fly to the game through her son-in-law's friend.
Pilot Ron Riek--an experienced aviator and businessman from Woodville, Wisconsin--reported just before the crash that the single-engine six-seater was icing up as it flew through the storm. The plane went down in a wooded area. Everyone on board was killed.
Menominee Airport Commission Chairman Daniel Johnson said the particular aircraft they were in--a Piper Malibu--has a reputation of not doing well in thunderstorms.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
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