Two Winnebago County men died Nov. 24 after a TBM-700 plane, which had departed from Oshkosh, crashed into a gravel quarry adjacent to the Monroe Municipal Airport.
According to the Green County Sheriff’s Office, 911 communicators received a report of the crash at 5:14 p.m. in the area of the W4600 block of State Highway 59, in the town of Sylvester.
According to flight tracking software, the aircraft, identified as a Socata TBM-700 turboprop, departed Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport at around 4:40 p.m. Reports then indicate that the plane was inbound to land at the Monroe Municipal Airport when it crashed into the quarry located on the north side of the highway.
Responding fire departments, including Monroe Rural Fire Department and Juda Fire Departments, extinguished the large fire, which involved aircraft debris and construction equipment within the quarry. Green County EMS also responded to the scene.
The sheriff’s office confirmed that two men, later identified as a 43-year-old male from Oshkosh and a 41-year-old male from Omro, were killed inside the plane at the time of the crash.
Investigators are looking into poor weather, including dense fog and visibility limited to a quarter mile, as a potential factor. Such conditions require a pilot to fly using instruments rather than by sight.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration arrived on the scene the next day to begin their joint investigation.
The sheriff’s office detective bureau remains involved in assisting on scene and is maintaining scene security, but does not expect to release any further information.
According to NTSB officials a final report is expected within 18 to 24 months, determining probable cause along with issuing any possible safety recommendations. A preliminary report, containing factual information, will be released in the next couple of weeks.
