Two Dead After Plane Crashes Into Lake Winnebago

Just after 9 AM this morning, the Winnebago County 911 Center began taking multiple calls of a plane that crashed into Lake Winnebago.

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that two people were on board and recovery efforts are ongoing.

The base of operations was taking place at Asylum Bay which is on the north side of Oshkosh. Authorities ask that the public refrain from going to this area as it will be closed while operations are ongoing.

Amy Schneider of Elkhart Lake was fishing with a friend out on Lake Winnebago and witnessed the crash. She said, ” We knew something wasn’t right as the plane flew over.” As they watched it, it nosedived into the water. She went on to say, “At first we thought it was just a plane practicing but after we saw a plume of smoke we knew it wasn’t.”

Responding to the incident were The Winnebago County Dive Team, Oshkosh Fire, Winneconne Fire, Neenah Menasha Fire/Rescue, Calumet County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin DNR, US Coast Guard and the US Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Initial reports are that is was a WWII era T6.

Sources close to the incident say the two people involved were at Airventure from Texas.

Also involved with the investigation are EAA, NTSB and FAA.