Twin engine plane went down about 6 miles from me, all 3 on board died. Certainly wasn't weather related, not a cloud in the sky, dead calm, not a breeze blowing.  It was flying N.E. out of Rhinelander, was 10 minutes out. Apparently it just fell off the radar at Minneapolis ground control. No mayday calls.  My guess as to cause? It flew head on into a flock of southbound Canada Geese. There were flocks going over, heading south, all morning. I used to hunt in that area, it's a major flyway right over that lake.

https://www.wxpr.org/news/2021-09-29/three-dead-after-forest-county-plane-crash-ntsb-investigators-on-site

Forest Service has closed the area near the crash site... and it includes my favorite grouse hunting trail, and a friend has numerous bear baits in the closed area that he cannot access now... and it's bear season. The closed area is only about 2 miles from my bear baiting locations. I know this area like I know my own back yard. I've been wandering around (hunting) through it for 30 years. If it crashed where I think it did, they'll need helicopters to get the wreckage out of there. There's some real bad-ass bogs in there that have no bottoms...

https://www.wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/2021/09/29/fatal-plane-crash-chequamegon-nicolet-forest-area-closed-public/5924934001/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&__twitter_impression=true?itm_medium=recirc&itm_source=taboola&itm_campaign=internal&itm_content=BelowHomepageFeed-FeedRedesign

Why does the FAA have to investigate every private plane crash?  Because planes are regulated by the feds?  They should be treated just like ground vehicles.  Fewer feds is good feds.

Airspace is regulated by the feds, as are aircraft.  I doubt if the sheriffs Dept. is capable of conducting an aircraft accident investigation to determine cause.  There are some things the feds are good at and I think Accident investigation would be one of them.  (Assuming chairman xiden isn't involved!)

I talked to an eyewitness yesterday who saw it go down. He was at the boat launch on Franklin Lake, less than a few miles from where it crashed (? don't know the exact spot it crashed, just the general area). He said he heard the engines, but wasn't looking up at it. He heard a loud "pop" or "thud"... then no more engine noise, and when he looked up he saw it in a nose dive that it never pulled out of. He heard it hit the ground, so he couldn't have been too far away.