Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany said Sunday he sustained minor injuries after the plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing on Lake Wausau in central Wisconsin.
Tiffany, a Republican, said in a social media post that he was returning from La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the plane he was traveling in lost power on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in the water.
A Beechcraft K35 landed in Lake Wausau around 8:50 p.m. local time Saturday after the pilot reported engine issues, the Federal Aviation Administration told CBS News on Sunday. Only two people were on board. The FAA will continue to investigate.
Tiffany was flying with Len Boltz, a private pilot whom the congressman has flown with before, Tiffany said at a news conference Sunday.
He said the plane lost power during final approach and went down 10 seconds after he was told to tighten his seat belt. After crash landing in the lake, Boltz was able to call 911, Tiffany said. The two sat on top of the plane for about 10 minutes until they decided to swim toward the airport. The pair managed to get to a point in the lake where they could stand, and a boat met them shortly after.
“I have to say that the gravity of this is probably just hitting me at this point,” Tiffany said Sunday. “Because 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.”
Earlier, Tiffany wrote in his social media post, “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.”
“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,” Tiffany said in his post.
In another social media post on Sunday, Tiffany gave his thanks for the messages he’s received and said he was released from the hospital “after receiving stitches above my right eye.” He said the pilot was also released.
Tiffany said at Sunday’s news conference that he received 12 stitches while Bolt received four. He said he also underwent a CT scan, and it doesn’t seem like he has a concussion, but he will still monitor himself for symptoms going forward.
He noted his phone is at the bottom of the lake, so he doesn’t know specifically who has reached out to him, including any possible attempt by the president to do so.
The gubernatorial candidate said he is eager to get back out on the campaign trail. He said he’s been told not to fly for a few days, so he won’t be back in Washington, D.C., right away.
Tiffany’s Democratic opponent, David Crowley, responded by saying he was “grateful to God that Congressman Tiffany and no one else was hurt in this horrifying incident, which could have been a tragedy if not for the heroism of the pilot.”
