Representative Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee for governor of Wisconsin, said he sustained minor injuries after his aircraft made an emergency landing on Saturday, forcing him and the pilot to swim to safety.
Mr. Tiffany was returning to his district from a dinner in La Crosse County, about 100 miles away, when the plane lost power on its approach to Wausau Downtown Airport, he said on Sunday. The pilot landed the aircraft in Lake Wausau.
“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,” Mr. Tiffany said in a social media post.
The local fire department transferred the two to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the pilot, the Wausau Fire Department, and all of the first responders who came to our aid so quickly,” Mr. Tiffany said, adding, “An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is.”
The Wausau Fire Department and Wausau Downtown Airport did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
According to the local outlet WSAW, the aircraft was a four-seat Bonanza. Mr. Tiffany’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The cause of the power loss on the aircraft was not immediately clear. According to WSAW, officials from the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin State Patrol were at the scene of the crash.
Mr. Tiffany, who has close ties to President Trump, represents a conservative district that covers a large swath of rural northern and central Wisconsin. He easily won the Republican nomination for governor last month as the only major candidate on the party’s ballot.
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