US Congressman Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee for governor in Wisconsin, sustained minor injuries after a small plane he was travelling in made an emergency landing on Lake Wausau on Saturday night. The aircraft experienced a mechanical issue, forcing the pilot to land in the lake, according to the Marathon County Sheriff's office.
Tiffany and the pilot, who also had minor injuries, called 911 after landing. They exited the plane as it began to submerge and swam to a shallow area, where they awaited emergency responders. A Wausau Fire Department airboat rescued them approximately 15 minutes later, at 21:05 local time.
The single-engine Beechcraft K35, carrying only Tiffany and the pilot, was returning from a dinner in La Crosse County when it lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport. The cause of the mechanical issue is not yet clear, and the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.