Wisconsin lawmaker survives plane crash landing in lake

Wisconsin lawmaker Tom Tiffany is talking about a nightmare that ended too soon. He was flying his four-seat plane home from a campaign event when disaster struck. The pilot suddenly warned them they were going down and told him to tighten his seat belt. It happened on Saturday night as they prepared to land in Wausau.

'Tom, we are going down, pull your seat belt as tight as possible,' the pilot said. Tiffany heard the words clearly. He yanked the strap across his chest just seconds before impact. The moment felt like staring into an abyss. You do not know how deep it goes when you look that close.

The aircraft slammed hard into Lake Wausau. Miraculously, the plane stayed upright and afloat. The pilot's skilled work kept them from sinking instantly. They looked at each other in the dark water. 'Are you okay?' was the only question they asked before forcing the door open.

Tiffany swam to shallow water while waiting for help. He suffered a cut above his eye that needed 12 stitches. The pilot also got hurt and required four stitches. Both men escaped with minor injuries thanks to quick action. They had little time to move as the damaged plane began to sink in the darkness.

Local law enforcement and first responders saved them quickly. Tiffany said he could not thank them enough for their work. He credited God for keeping them alive through that terrifying sequence. The event happened so fast he struggles to piece it together now. 'It happened really quickly,' he explained. 'And we were out of that plane I think really quickly.'

The crash occurred after the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner. Tiffany wrote on Facebook about losing power near Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau at 9pm local time on Saturday night. They called 911 immediately after hitting the water. Now a damaged plane sits where they crashed before being hauled out Monday. Each person involved walked away with only small wounds.

An airplane plunged into water, forcing its occupants to swim from a sunken craft until emergency boats arrived. As the vessel began to submerge, Tiffany and the pilot exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area where they waited for help. The Marathon County Sheriff's Office and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources responded immediately to the scene. Rescuers pulled them from the water and transported both survivors to Aspirus Wausau Hospital for necessary treatment.

The congressman later thanked everyone involved in this dramatic rescue effort. He praised first responders who got us safely off the water and transported us to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where we received excellent care. Officials are still working to determine exactly what caused the aircraft to lose power, and that question remains under active investigation right now.

Tiffany is a Republican who has represented Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District since 2020. She won the seat previously held by Sean Duffy, who resigned from Congress in 2019 and now serves as President Donald Trump's Transportation Secretary. Tiffany is now the Republican nominee for Wisconsin governor and faces Democrat David Crowley in November.

A Marquette Law School poll published at the end of August showed the two tied at 44 percent of support each among respondents who were registered voters. Twelve percent of registered voter respondents to the poll remained undecided on how to cast their ballot. Wisconsin's 7th congressional district has been represented by Republicans for the last 15 years, a streak that may soon change depending on election results this fall.