U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin swims to security after aircraft makes emergency touchdown in Lake Wausau

WAUSAU, Wis. — A Republican congressman mentioned he needed to swim to security after a aircraft he was touring in made an emergency touchdown in a lake late Saturday.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany says he was getting back from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the sunshine plane misplaced energy because it approached Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot made an emergency touchdown in Lake Wausau. They each ended up within the water and swam to security.

“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 wrote on X.

The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office mentioned in a press release that the emergency touchdown occurred simply earlier than 9 p.m. Saturday. Tiffany and the pilot, Leonard Boltz, obtained out of the aircraft and known as 911. They have been rescued by emergency responders in a fireplace division airboat simply after 9 p.m.

Both males have been taken to a close-by hospital, the place they have been handled for minor accidents and launched. Tiffany suffered a reduce above his proper eye that required stitches, his marketing campaign mentioned in an emailed assertion.

A no-wake buoy was positioned close to the aircraft, which remained within the lake, and boaters have been being requested to keep away from the world till the aircraft might be eliminated, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson mentioned the company would examine the incident. A National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson mentioned that company is ready for the FAA to evaluate the aircraft as as to if the injury was substantial sufficient for it to get entangled.

Tiffany is working for governor on the Republican ticket in Wisconsin and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump.

David Crowley, the Democratic candidate, wished Tiffany a “quick recovery” in a submit on X and lauded the “heroism of the pilot.”

The aircraft Tiffany was touring in was a single-engine, four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza plane.