Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Tom Tiffany (WI-07) held a press conference Sunday afternoon to give his firsthand account of the terrifying plane accident he survived Saturday night, emotionally describing the moment his pilot warned him they were going down just seconds before their aircraft slammed into the waters of Lake Wausau.
Speaking to reporters from Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Tiffany appeared with a bandage above his right eye – he had received 12 stitches – the only visible injury Saturday night 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 aircraft had been on its final approach to Wausau Downtown Airport when it suddenly lost power.
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 are 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 decision to retract the landing gear before he ditched the plane, which likely prevented the plane from "cartwheeling" across the lake and causing them both more serious injuries.
After coming to a stop atop the lake, the two men scrambled out the passenger side of the plane, then took refuge atop it as it slowly submerged. Tiffany's phone was still in the plane, but Boltz had his and immediately called 911.
They eventually decided they needed to swim away from the plane. Tiffany said they swam approximately 100 to 150 feet east, eventually reaching a sandbar with shallower water. Rescuers in boats reached them about five minutes later; they were immediately brought to waiting ambulances and rushed to the hospital.
Tiffany said the gravity of what happened was only beginning to hit him as he reflected on how quickly an otherwise routine flight home had turned into a scary emergency. "It was quite a night," he noted wryly.
Doctors have advised him not to fly for a few days, so Tiffany does not expect to be in Washington, D.C., when Congress reconvenes this week. But, he fully intends to keep flying and keep campaigning, saying it was important for him to hold a press conference to keep voters updated on the crash.
And while Tiffany made it clear that the crash isn't going to keep him grounded for too long, he also seemed keenly aware that the outcome could have been very different.
"We're really fortunate that God was looking out for us last night," he said.