“While returning home from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner, the plane I was traveling in lost power as we approached the Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau,” Tiffany said in the statement.
The congressman said the two men immediately called for help once they were out of the aircraft. As the plane began disappearing beneath the water, they made their way toward shallower ground and waited for emergency crews.
“After landing, we called 911. 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,” he added.
The situation could have ended dramatically differently. With the aircraft sinking and the two occupants forced into the water at night, getting out of the plane and reaching a safe location became an urgent matter.
Emergency responders soon arrived by boat and helped bring both men safely out of the water.
Tiffany credited the pilot and first responders with helping prevent the emergency from becoming a tragedy.
Tiffany expressed his “deepest gratitude to the pilot, the Wausau Fire Department, and all of the first responders who came to our aid so quickly.”
“They got us safely off the water and transported us to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where we received excellent care. Thankfully, both the pilot and I sustained only minor injuries,” he said.
Both Tiffany and the pilot were transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital for treatment. Despite the dramatic circumstances surrounding the crash-landing, neither suffered serious injuries, according to Tiffany’s statement.
For Tiffany, the incident was also a deeply personal reminder of how quickly circumstances can change.
“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,” he added.
Tiffany had been traveling home after attending the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner in Onalaska as part of his campaign schedule. The event came during an important stretch of the Wisconsin governor’s race.
The aircraft’s loss of power occurred only moments before it was expected to reach Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot’s decision to land on Lake Wausau allowed the plane to come down away from populated areas and gave both occupants an opportunity to escape after the aircraft hit the water.
The precise cause of the power failure was not immediately known. Authorities are expected to investigate what happened, including the aircraft’s mechanical condition and the circumstances surrounding the emergency landing.
The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to review the incident as investigators work to determine why the aircraft lost power during its approach.
The accident temporarily interrupted Tiffany’s campaign, but his statement indicated that he was recovering and had suffered only minor injuries.
Tiffany currently represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District and is the Republican nominee in the state’s open gubernatorial contest. He entered the race after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced that he would not seek another term.
President Donald Trump endorsed Tiffany during the Republican primary, and Tiffany ultimately captured the GOP nomination.
His Democratic opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, responded to news of the crash by expressing relief that Tiffany and the pilot survived without serious injuries.
“Thank God that Congressman Tiffany and the pilot are safe,” Crowley said, while also praising the pilot’s handling of the emergency.
The two candidates are scheduled to face one another in the Nov. 3 election.
For now, however, the political battle has taken a back seat to the remarkable survival story unfolding after Saturday night’s emergency.
Authorities have not yet provided a definitive timeline for recovering the aircraft from Lake Wausau, nor have they indicated how long the investigation into the power failure could take.
What is clear is that the situation could have been far worse.
A plane carrying two people lost power during its approach to an airport, was forced into an emergency water landing, and then began sinking. Both occupants managed to escape, reach shallow water and remain there until rescuers arrived.
Tiffany’s immediate concern now is recovery alongside his wife, Chris, rather than the campaign trail.
And after a terrifying night in which a routine flight home suddenly became a fight to escape a sinking aircraft, the Republican nominee is counting his blessings.
For Tiffany and the pilot, the most important fact is also the simplest: they survived.
