Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate and US Rep. Tom Tiffany sustained minor injuries after the plane he was travelling in was forced to land on Lake Wausau in central Wisconsin on Sunday.
Tiffany said the incident happened as he was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner. According to the congressman, the aircraft lost power while approaching Wausau Downtown Airport, leaving the pilot with no option but to make an emergency landing on the lake.
Tiffany said he and the pilot managed to escape from the aircraft after it began taking on water. The pair then swam towards a shallow section of the lake, where they remained until emergency personnel arrived.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the pilot, the Wausau Fire Department, and all of the first responders who came to our aid so quickly,” Tiffany wrote in his post.
“Thankfully, both the pilot and I sustained only minor injuries,” he added.
Tiffany later shared another update from the hospital, saying the incident had reminded him of the value of life.
“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,” Tiffany said in his post.
The plane reportedly went down in Lake Wausau at about 9 pm local time, according to CBS affiliate WSAW-TV, which cited the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation into the incident was subsequently handed over to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Tiffany’s Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial race, David Crowley, also reacted to the incident, expressing relief that the congressman and others involved escaped serious harm.
Crowley said he was “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.”
