Wisconsin congressman survives emergency plane landing, swims to safety
Wisconsin Republican congressman Tom Tiffany and his pilot survived an emergency plane landing in Lake Wausau after experiencing mechanical failure. Both individuals were able to swim to safety and were treated for minor injuries.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the risks of private aviation and involves a high-profile political figure, drawing public interest to aviation safety protocols.
A Republican congressman from Wisconsin has described how he and a pilot had to swim to safety after the plane they were traveling in made an emergency landing in a lake.
Tom Tiffany said he was traveling aboard a small single-engine plane Saturday evening when the aircraft lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport.
The Marathon County Sheriff's Office said in a statement the pilot Leonard Boltz made an emergency landing on Lake Wausau.
"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," Tiffany wrote in a post on X .
Tiffany, Wisconsin's Republican gubernatorial nominee, said he was returning home from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner in Onalaska.
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