Tom Tiffany Reveals Split-Second Decision That May

Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07) held a press convention Sunday afternoon to give his firsthand account of the terrifying airplane accident he survived Saturday evening, emotionally describing the second his pilot warned him they had been going down just seconds before their plane slammed into the waters of Lake Wausau.

Speaking to reporters from Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Tiffany appeared with a bandage above his proper eye – he had obtained 12 stitches – the only seen injury Saturday evening ordeal as he was flying to Wausau from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner in Onalaska.

Tiffany, 68, was the only passenger aboard the single-engine Beechcraft K35 Bonanza owned and piloted by 73-year-old Len Boltz. As RedState reported Sunday morning, the plane had been on its closing method to Wausau Downtown Airport when it instantly misplaced energy.

Boltz told Tiffany, “We are going down, pull your seatbelt tight.” He continued, “I pulled it good and tight — and about 10 seconds later we hit the water.”

NEW: Tom Tiffany recounts the scary moments of the emergency landing in Lake Wausau. They lost power and the private pilot of the small plane said “we’re going down.”@livenowfox pic.twitter.com/MviHh9GHoN

— Andy Mac (@ItsAndyMac_) September 13, 2026

The congressman estimated they hit the water going around 70 MPH, and the impact made him hit his head against the plane’s panel. Calling Boltz “savvy,: Tiffany revealed that the pilot had made a last-minute resolution to retract the touchdown gear before he ditched the airplane, which probably prevented the airplane from “cartwheeling” across the lake and inflicting them both more severe accidents.

After coming to a stop atop the lake, the 2 males scrambled out the passenger aspect of the airplane, then took refuge atop it as it slowly submerged. Tiffany’s telephone was still in the airplane, but Boltz had his and immediately called 911.

They finally determined they needed to swim away from the airplane. Tiffany said they swam roughly 100 to 150 toes east, finally reaching a sandbar with shallower water. Rescuers in boats reached them about 5 minutes later; they had been immediately introduced to ready ambulances and rushed to the hospital. 

Tiffany said the gravity of what occurred was only starting to hit him as he mirrored on how rapidly an in any other case routine flight home had turned into a scary emergency. “It was quite a night,” he famous wryly.

Doctors have suggested him not to fly for a few days, so Tiffany doesn’t count on to be in Washington, D.C., when Congress reconvenes this week. But, he absolutely intends to keep flying and keep campaigning, saying it was important for him to maintain a press convention to keep voters up to date on the crash.

And while Tiffany made it clear that the crash is not going to keep him grounded for too long, he also appeared keenly conscious that the end result might have been very different.

“We’re really fortunate that God was looking out for us last night,” he said.

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