Grandmother, her two daughters and grandson among six killed when US plane plunged at 4,000ft per minute after ice built up on wings
Ronald Riek, the first identified victim of the Wisconsin Dells crash, was the experienced pilot who radioed that ice was accumulating on his wings before the plane went down, killing all six on board.A Piper PA-46 Meridian like the aircraft Ronald Riek was piloting when it plunged into woodland near Mirror Lake State Park at 4,000 feet per minute, reaching 340mph.
Mary Brion, 67, her daughters Kayla Turpin, 39, and Amanda Haremza, 45, and 13-year-old grandson Rylan Haremza were flying home to surprise her granddaughters at a high school volleyball game when the Piper PA-46 Malibu crashed in a wooded area near Mirror Lake State Park in Wisconsin on Tuesday night. Pilot Ron Riek, 63, a veteran aviator and warehouse businessman, had reported icing at 24,000 feet and requested permission to descend — but the plane entered a sharpening right turn before contact was lost. The NTSB and FAA have launched a full investigation; preliminary findings are expected within 30 days.
Riek's airspeed nearly DOUBLED to 340mph during the death plunge, flight data shows, and expert Jeff Guzzetti called it 'all the earmarks of an icing-related loss of control.'
David Brion said his wife Mary 'never had much money — she just wanted to find her joy' and the trip had the family 'really excited.'
Doorbell footage captured by a local resident recorded sounds from the falling plane; she said it was 'a sound you won't get out of your head.'
