# A congressman's plane went down in Lake Wausau

> Rep. Tom Tiffany's flight home from a campaign dinner ended with an engine failure and a water landing 10 seconds later.
- Title: A congressman's plane went down in Lake Wausau · CBS News
- Summary: Rep. Tom Tiffany's flight home from a campaign dinner ended with an engine failure and a water landing 10 seconds later. Tiffany and his pilot walked away…
- Keywords: wisconsin, plane crash, tom tiffany, politics, aviation safety, news, congressman's, plane, went, Lake, Wausau, CBS News
- Source: CBS News — https://cbsnews.com/news/wisconsin-congressman-tom-tiffany-lake-wausau-plane-crash-landing
- Author: Duarte  Dias
- Published: 2026-09-13T21:27:06+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: wisconsin, plane crash, tom tiffany, politics, aviation safety, news
## Power lost on final approach
Rep. Tom Tiffany was flying back from a La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner when his plane lost power near Wausau Downtown Airport. The pilot put it down on Lake Wausau instead.
## Ten seconds of warning
Tiffany said he was told to tighten his seat belt. The plane hit the water 10 seconds later, with only him and private pilot Len Boltz on board.
## They swam for the airport
Boltz called 911 from the wreck. The two sat on top of the sinking Beechcraft K35 for about 10 minutes, then swam until they could stand, and a boat reached them soon after.
## Jokes all the way down
Tiffany said the shock only caught up with him the next day. He and Boltz kept the mood light through the whole thing, even knowing how serious it was.

> The gravity of this is probably just hitting me at this point.
## Twelve stitches and a CT scan
Tiffany got 12 stitches above his right eye, Boltz got four, and both were released from the hospital. A scan showed no concussion, though he is watching for symptoms.

> God was watching over us tonight.
## Grounded, briefly
His phone is at the bottom of the lake, so he has no idea who tried to reach him. He is off flying for a few days, then back on the campaign trail against Democrat David Crowley.
## Key takeaway

Tiffany and his pilot walked away with stitches, but the plane lost power on final approach and put them in a cold lake in the dark.