Wisconsin Rep Tom Tiffany cheated death in a Wisconsin lake after his light aircraft plummeted, forcing him to swim to safety

Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany escaped a potentially deadly situation after the small plane he was traveling in lost power over Lake Wausau. This forced the aircraft into an emergency water landing. Per Fox, the four-seat Bonanza was approaching Wausau Downtown Airport when the power loss occurred, leaving Tiffany and the pilot scrambling to escape after the aircraft hit the water.

Tiffany, a Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor, said the incident happened after he attended the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner and was on his way home. The pilot, identified as 73-year-old Leonard Boltz, managed to bring the aircraft down on Lake Wausau.

“The pilot made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau,” Tiffany wrote on X. The congressman said he and the pilot immediately called 911 after the aircraft hit the water, but the situation quickly became more dangerous as the plane started filling with water.

The plane started sinking before rescuers arrived

The aircraft began submerging before rescuers could reach the two men, forcing them to get out and swim toward shallower water. Tiffany described the escape in a post after the incident, saying, “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.”

The crash prompted a response from multiple agencies, including the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, Wausau Police Department, Wausau Fire Department, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin State Patrol. The aircraft remained in Lake Wausau after the rescue, with a no-wake buoy placed near the wreckage while crews prepared to remove it.

According to TheSun, both men were taken to Aspirus Wausau Hospital after being rescued and suffered only minor injuries. Tiffany later praised the pilot and the emergency crews who responded, thanking the Wausau Fire Department and other first responders for reaching them quickly.

“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,” Tiffany said. “They got us safely off the water and transported us to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where we received excellent care.”

Tiffany also shared a more personal message from the hospital, saying his wife, Chris, was at his side following the frightening incident. “God was watching over us tonight, and I am incredibly grateful to be here in the hospital with my wife, Chris, by my side,” he said. “An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is.”