U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said Monday night that the seconds before his small plane slammed into a Wisconsin lake felt like “staring into the abyss,” describing a sudden loss of power, a hard water landing and a scramble out of a sinking aircraft that left him with 12 stitches above his eye.
Tiffany, a Republican running for governor, recounted the Saturday night emergency landing on Fox News’ “Hannity,” two days after a Beechcraft Bonanza carrying him and pilot Leonard Boltz lost power on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport. The aircraft put down in Lake Wausau. Both men climbed onto the sinking plane, called 911 and swam to a sandbar before firefighters pulled them aboard an airboat.
“My memory is so vivid on that, Sean,” Tiffany told host Sean Hannity. “As we were making that final turn before we were going to approach for landing, the pilot turned to me and he said, ‘Tom, we’re going down. Pull your seat belt as tight as possible.’ And it was like staring into the abyss and you don’t know how far down it is.”
Tiffany said he yanked the belt tight and braced for impact.
“It was just a couple seconds later we hit the water and we hit it hard,” he recalled. “But the plane stayed upright thankfully as a result of the skilled work of the pilot.”
He and Boltz checked on each other, then forced open the door on Tiffany’s side.
“Get this door open,” Tiffany said he told the pilot as the plane began to submerge beneath the water. “It’s by the grace of God that we’re here today.”
Tiffany, 68, said his only significant injury was the cut above his right eye. Boltz, 73, received four stitches.
“Each of us had very minor injuries,” Tiffany said. “Once again, thanks to the grace of God, this is the only injury that I have, Sean. Couple little scratches and just so fortunate.”
The congressman said he had flown with Boltz “numerous times” in the Bonanza. He was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the engine failed. Officials said the first 911 call came at 8:49 p.m. Saturday; rescuers reached the men about 9:05 p.m. The plane sank and remained in the lake. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
