Wisconsin congressman survives emergency plane landing, swims to safety

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., speaks at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee.

Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Mark Schiefelbein/AP

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.

“The 911 call had come in from one of the occupants of the plane. They were able to exit the plane and made the call while they were basically standing on top of the plane,” Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Cory Gladden told Wisconsin Public Radio.

According to Gladden’s timeline, Tiffany and Boltz were in the water for about 20 minutes before emergency responders located them. Gladden said initial information indicates the plane experienced mechanical failure.

Tiffany also shared online that he received stitches above his right eye and was released from the hospital. Boltz was also treated for minor injuries, according to the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.

Wisconsin Public Radio’s Hope Kirwan contributed to this report.

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