U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany survives emergency plane landing in Wisconsin lake

WAUSAU, Wis. -- A Republican congressman said he had to swim to safety after a plane he was traveling in made an emergency landing in a lake late Saturday.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany says he was returning from the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when the light aircraft lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot made an emergency landing in Lake Wausau. They both ended up in the water and swam to safety.

“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.

Emergency responders got both Tiffany and the pilot to a nearby hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.

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

David Crowley, the Democratic candidate for governor wrote on X that he is grateful that no one was hurt and lauded the “heroism of the pilot.”

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