Grandmother who surprised grandchildren at volleyball game died with daughters and grandson when Wisconsin plane plunged from sky
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 grandson Rylan Haremza, 13, had been travelling home after secretly attending the girls' high school volleyball match when their plane crashed Tuesday night near Mirror Lake State Park. Pilot Ron Riek, an experienced businessman who owned the aircraft, had radioed controllers to report ice building on the wings at 24,000 feet and requested permission to descend. All six people aboard the Piper PA-46 Malibu died as the aircraft plummeted at speeds reaching 4,000 feet per minute, its airspeed climbing to nearly double, hitting 340 mph.
David Brion said his wife Mary 'just wanted to find her joy' — the family rarely saw their grandchildren because the five-hour car journey made visits difficult.
The NTSB says the plane entered a sharp descending right turn before all communications were lost — aviation expert Jeff Guzzetti called it 'all the earmarks of an icing-related loss of control.'
Riek, a Woodville trucking company owner described as having 'a heart of gold', was mourned by his community — the NTSB expects to release a preliminary report within 30 days.
