JANESVILLE, Wis. — Federal investigators have provided new information on Tuesday’s fatal Rock County plane crash.
According to National Transportation Safety Board Spokesman Peter Knudson, the flight began in Appleton with two people on-board. Officials said the two were ultimately headed to Sebastian, Florida, but stopped in Janesville for fuel. Knudson said the pilot had later reported “engine trouble” to the tower.
The two died after the plane crashed along the edge of Happy Hollow Park, which is roughly a mile away from the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport. The Rock County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the victims’ names at a later time.
Knudson said an on-scene investigator arrived Wednesday and already completed his preliminary examination. The plane will be removed from the crash site and brought to a “secure location,” where it will be stored. The Rock County Sheriff’s Office said the last piece of the plane is being removed from the scene Thursday.
The federal investigator will return within the next couple weeks to further examine the plane in a sterile environment, after which point he will file his preliminary report. Whereas the preliminary report will likely come out in the next few weeks, the final report determining the cause of the crash is expected to take 12 to 24 months to complete.
The NTSB typically reports between 1,200 to 1,300 aviation crashes every year, but the vast majority are not fatal.
The sheriff’s department said Happy Hollow may be open as soon as Friday.
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