WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a candidate for Wisconsin governor, wiped away tears and laughed while sharing how thankful he was Sunday to survive a harrowing late-night emergency landing into a lake of the small plane he was riding in.
The pilot “said we are going down,” Tiffany, a Republican, told reporters at a downtown Wausau firehouse. “'Pull your seat belt tight.' I gave it a yank and pulled it good and tight. It was probably about 10 seconds later ... we hit the water.”
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Tiffany said he and the pilot, Leonard Boltz, remained on top of the plane in Lake Wausau until it began sinking before deciding to try and swim to shore. He said they swam about 100 to 150 feet (30 to 45 meters) until they reached water shallow enough to stand in.
“We’re really fortunate that God was looking after us last night," said the 68-year-old Tiffany.
The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the emergency landing happened just before 9 p.m. Saturday. Boltz called 911 after the pair got out of the plane. They were rescued by emergency responders in a fire department airboat just after 9 p.m.
“The gravity of this is probably just hitting me at this point,” Tiffany said Sunday. "We were making jokes every step of the way last night, though we knew it was a serious situation, we tried to keep it light through the whole thing.”
David Crowley, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, wished Tiffany a “quick recovery” in a post on X and lauded the “heroism of the pilot.”
Tiffany said he was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the single-engine, four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport.
Tiffany said he suffered a cut above his right eye that required 12 stitches. Boltz, who Tiffany said is a retired Air Force pilot, also suffered cuts and received four stitches.
He said the incident will not impact his gubernatorial campaign.
A no-wake buoy was placed near the plane, which remained in the lake, and boaters were being asked to avoid the area until the plane can be removed, the sheriff's office said.
A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said the agency would investigate the incident. A National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson said that agency is waiting for the FAA to assess the plane as to whether the damage was substantial enough for it to get involved.
