Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany escaped a submerging aircraft in a Wisconsin lake late Saturday night, walking away with stitches and a reminder of how fast a routine flight can turn deadly.
Tiffany and pilot Leonard Boltz were flying a single-engine Beechcraft K35 Bonanza back from a Republican fundraiser in La Crosse County when the four-seat plane lost power on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport just before 9 p.m. Boltz put the aircraft down in Lake Wausau. Within minutes, the plane started sinking, and both men climbed out and swam for a shallow stretch of the lake to wait for help.
Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District and is running for governor with President Donald Trump's endorsement, posted on X shortly after the ordeal. He described calling 911 from the surface of the lake and then abandoning the aircraft as water rushed in.
"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."
A Wausau Fire Department airboat reached the two men and brought them to shore, AP News reported. Both were transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital. Tiffany suffered a laceration above his right eye that required stitches. He and Boltz were treated for minor injuries and released the same night.
In a fuller statement shared on social media, Tiffany struck a grateful tone. Fox News reported additional remarks from his post:
"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."
The congressman had spent the evening at the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner, a standard stop on the Republican circuit in Wisconsin. La Crosse sits roughly 150 miles west of Wausau, meaning the Bonanza was nearing the end of its flight when the engine quit.
No explanation for the power loss has been made public. The FAA has opened an investigation, and the Washington Examiner noted the aircraft was identified as a Beechcraft K35, a model that has been in production since the 1940s and is widely used in private aviation. The National Transportation Safety Board is also looking into the incident, ABC News reported.
The incident drew a bipartisan response. David Crowley, the Democratic candidate for governor and the current Milwaukee County Executive, posted on X expressing relief and praising the unnamed pilot's skill under pressure.
The New York Post published a fuller version of Crowley's remarks:
"I'm grateful to God that Congressman Tiffany and no one else was hurt in this horrifying incident, which could have been a tragedy if not for the heroism of the pilot."
Crowley also wished Tiffany a "quick recovery." The exchange marked a rare moment of civility in what Just the News described as a competitive gubernatorial contest.
Several details remain unresolved. Investigators have not said what caused the Beechcraft Bonanza to lose power. The pilot, now identified as Leonard Boltz, has not spoken publicly. And no official account has clarified whether anyone else was aboard the four-seat aircraft, though all reporting names only two occupants.
The plane itself sits at the bottom of Lake Wausau. No timeline for recovery has been announced, and it is unclear whether the aircraft's condition will yield answers about the mechanical failure.
Tiffany's campaign schedule going forward has not been addressed. But the congressman left the hospital under his own power the same night, with his wife at his side and a cut above his eye to show for it.
A man who wants to lead Wisconsin got a hard reminder Saturday night that the job starts with showing up alive. He did, because a pilot kept his nerve and put a dead aircraft on water instead of dirt.
