# His plane went down, so he swam

> A Wisconsin congressman and his pilot climbed out of a sinking plane into a cold lake and waited 15 minutes for a boat.
- Title: His plane went down, so he swam · BBC News | Shortify
- Summary: A Wisconsin congressman and his pilot climbed out of a sinking plane into a cold lake and waited 15 minutes for a boat. A single-engine plane lost power on…
- Keywords: aviation, wisconsin, plane crash, politics, ntsb, news, world, plane, went, swam, BBC News
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y5d87x72zo
- Published: 2026-09-13T15:30:43.512+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: aviation, wisconsin, plane crash, politics, ntsb, news, world
## A lake, not a runway
Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin's Republican nominee for governor, was flying home Saturday night when the small plane hit a mechanical problem. The pilot put it down in Lake Wausau.
## Out before it sank
Tiffany and the pilot called 911 from the water. They pulled themselves out as the aircraft filled and swam to a shallow patch of the lake.

> As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area
## Power gone on approach
He was coming back from a dinner in La Crosse County. The plane lost power as it neared Wausau Downtown Airport, minutes from landing.
## Fifteen minutes in the water
The 911 call came in at 20:49 local time. A Wausau Fire Department airboat reached the two men at 21:05 and took them off the shallows.
## Two men, one engine
The aircraft was a Beechcraft K35 Bonanza, a single-engine plane that seats five. Only Tiffany and the pilot were aboard. Both had minor injuries, and Tiffany took a small cut above his right eye.

> God was watching over us tonight, and I am incredibly grateful to be here in the hospital
## Still in the lake
The cause of the failure is not yet known. The FAA and NTSB are investigating while crews work to haul the plane out of the water.

> An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is.
## Key takeaway

A single-engine plane lost power on approach and both men aboard walked away with cuts, because they got out fast and swam for shallow water.