SYLVESTER TOWNSHIP — Four victims of a deadly plane crash near the Monroe Municipal Airport at noon Sunday have been identified by the Green County Sheriff’s Office.
Colleen S. Deininger, 81, was the pilot of the light aircraft. Her daughter, Melisa R. Deininger-Dickman, 53, and two grandchildren, Emmarose M. Dickman, 17, and Alex M. Dickman, 13, were the plane’s passengers. All were residents of Kenosha, where the flight began, and have family ties to Monroe.
Green County Coroner Jody Makos released the identities of the four crash victims in a press release from Sheriff Mark Rohloff at 3:45 p.m. Monday. According to the release, family members told authorities the four were flying in to attend a graduation celebration Sunday afternoon.
The flight originated from Kenosha Regional Airport, according to the release.
The Federal Aviation Administration Registry lists Deininger as the registered owner of a fixed wing single-engine plane. The Cessna T182T was made in 2012.
Deininger was a real estate agent in the Kenosha area. Deininger-Dickman was an independent investment educator with Deininger & Co. Inc., financial and tax consultants in Kenosha.
At noon Sunday, the sheriff’s department responded to 911 calls from witnesses who saw a small aircraft with flames coming off of it descending toward a grassy field just north of Monroe Municipal Airport before crashing into a wooded area at the edge of the field along Monroe Sylvester Road and Wisconsin 59 in Sylvester township.
When first responders arrived, the plane was engulfed in flames, which were extinguished by the Monroe Fire Department.
Emergency officials were on scene throughout the evening, combing the large debris field left by the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board has taken control of the investigation and was at the site by 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Rohloff said the search had “just concluded” at roughly 5 p.m. Monday. He said the investigation will “take some time” because the NTSB reassembles aircraft to determine the factors of a crash.