Tom Tiffany said he and a pilot escaped with minor injuries after their four-seat Bonanza lost power and made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau on Saturday night. The plane filled with water and began to sink before rescuers reached them.
After the landing, Tiffany and the pilot called 911, then got out as the aircraft started to submerge and swam to a shallow area. They waited there until emergency responders reached them by boat and pulled them from the lake.
Lake Wausau rescue
Tiffany said the plane was approaching Wausau Downtown Airport after his appearance at the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when it lost power. He described the sequence in a post on X, saying, "The pilot made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau" and later, "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 water landing left both occupants in a narrow window to get clear before the Bonanza sank further. Tiffany said they did not remain in the aircraft while it filled, instead moving to shallow water and waiting for the boat response that brought them out.
Aspirus Wausau Hospital care
Tiffany and the pilot were transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where Tiffany said they received excellent care. He said both sustained only minor injuries and added, "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 also thanked the pilot, the Wausau Fire Department, and the first responders who reached them quickly. Tiffany said, "An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is," a line that fits the immediate aftermath: both men were off the water, checked at the hospital, and able to describe the rescue themselves.
Tom Tiffany and Chris
The episode also drew attention because Tiffany is both a Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate and a U.S. Rep. He had been active publicly before the flight, and the accident cut across a day that ended with a hospital visit instead of a routine return from the event.
What caused the plane to lose power before it reached Wausau Downtown Airport still has not been explained. The immediate facts now are simpler: the aircraft went down in Lake Wausau, both people got out, and the rescue ended with minor injuries rather than a worse outcome.
