Public Safety · Menomonie, WI
Experienced Pilot Among 6 Killed in Plane Crash Near Menomonie, WI
Ron Riek, owner of Woodville Warehousing and Distributing and a longtime pilot out of Menomonie Airport, died along with five others when his Piper PA-46 Malibu crashed after ice accumulated on its wings during a thunderstorm. The six-seat plane was traveling from Kenosha to Menomonie and lost communications shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday while descending from 24,000 feet; it went down in a wooded area near Mirror Lake State Park, not far from Wisconsin Dells. The NTSB is investigating the crash, noting prior safety concerns with this aircraft model in thunderstorms. Menomonie Airport Commission Chairman Daniel Johnson told a public meeting Wednesday night that this marks two fatal crashes in 18 months for the small local aviation community.