Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany and his pilot escaped a sinking aircraft in Lake Wausau on Saturday night, both swimming to safety after the small plane lost power on approach to a Wisconsin airport.
Tiffany, a U.S. congressman representing Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District, was returning from a Republican Lincoln Day Dinner in La Crosse County when the four-seat Bonanza aircraft lost power while approaching Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot, identified by AP News as Leonard Boltz, put the plane down in Lake Wausau. Within moments, the aircraft began filling with water and sinking.
Both men got out and swam to a shallow area. They had already called 911 after hitting the water. A Wausau Fire Department airboat reached them just after 9 p.m., pulled them from the lake, and transported them to Aspirus Wausau Hospital. Tiffany suffered a cut above his right eye that required stitches. Both men were treated for minor injuries and released.
Tiffany described the ordeal in a post on X shortly after the incident. His wife, Chris, was with him at the hospital.
As Fox News Digital reported, Tiffany wrote:
"As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area, where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat."
He credited the pilot's skill and the speed of local first responders:
"I want to express my deepest gratitude to the pilot, the Wausau Fire Department, and all of the first responders who came to our aid so quickly. They got us safely off the water and transported us to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where we received excellent care."
Tiffany also struck a personal note.
"God was watching over us tonight, and I am incredibly grateful to be here in the hospital with my wife, Chris, by my side. An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is."
The cause of the power loss has not been determined. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have both been notified and are expected to investigate, AP News reported. No investigating agency had released preliminary findings as of the most recent reporting.
The aircraft, a single-engine Bonanza, a widely used four-seat general aviation plane, sank into Lake Wausau. Whether it has been recovered is unclear.
Tiffany is running for governor of Wisconsin as a Republican. His Democratic opponent, David Crowley, responded to the incident by wishing Tiffany a "quick recovery" and praising what the New York Post reported as the "heroism of the pilot."
Social media users flooded Tiffany's post with well-wishes. One commenter wrote, "My god! What an ordeal. Very grateful everyone is safe." Another said, "Prayers to you and everyone aboard that flight! So thankful you are all alive and able to see your loved ones."
Putting a single-engine plane down on water at night, with no power, is about as difficult as general aviation gets. Leonard Boltz managed it well enough that both men walked out of the hospital. The Wausau Fire Department's airboat crew did the rest.
When the people closest to danger do their jobs, the pilot at the controls, the firefighters on the water, the outcome speaks for itself. Washington could stand to take notes.
