# His Plane Sank. He Swam Out And Waited In The Lake.

*AI · 13 September 2026 · RECORDx NEWS*

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugQ9uCzpbdc
Page: https://news.recordx.co/story/his-plane-sank-he-swam-out-and-waited-in-the-lake/

Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican from Wisconsin and his party's nominee for governor, was on a small plane that lost power on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport on Saturday night, 12 September 2026. The pilot put it down on Lake Wausau.
The aircraft was a Beechcraft K35, a single-engine plane that seats five. Two people were on board.
"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," Tiffany wrote.
The Marathon County Sheriff's Office logged the 911 call at 20:49 local time. A Wausau Fire Department airboat reached them at 21:05, about fifteen minutes later.
Both men came out with minor injuries. Tiffany received a small cut over his right eye and was in hospital afterwards with his wife, Chris, beside him. "God was watching over us tonight," he said. "An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is."
The plane remains in the lake while crews work to remove it. The FAA and the NTSB will investigate; the cause of the mechanical issue was not immediately clear.
Nobody was killed. All footage is licensed stock — no footage of the crash, the aircraft or the lake itself.

## The spine

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wisconsin), his party's nominee for governor, was on a small plane that lost power on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport on Saturday night, 12 September 2026. The pilot put it down on Lake Wausau. Both men swam clear of the sinking aircraft and waited in shallow water for a rescue boat.

## The facts

Aircraft: Beechcraft K35 ("Bonanza"), single-engine, seats up to five. Two people on board — Tiffany and the pilot. He was flying home from a dinner in La Crosse County; the plane lost power on approach. 20:49 local — sheriff's office receives the 911 report of a plane crash on the lake. 21:05 local — a Wausau Fire Department airboat reaches them, about 15 minutes later. Both sustained minor injuries. Tiffany received a small cut over his right eye (per his campaign) and was in hospital afterwards. The plane remains in the lake; crews are working to remove it. The FAA and the NTSB will investigate. The cause of the mechanical issue was not immediately clear.

## In his words

"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." "God was watching over us tonight, and I am incredibly grateful to be here in the hospital with my wife, Chris, by my side. An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is." — Rep. Tom Tiffany

## Sources

BBC News (Grace Eliza Goodwin), 13 September 2026, citing the Marathon County Sheriff's Office press release and Tiffany's own social-media posts.

## References


Reporting drawn from: BBC News, Marathon County Sheriff's Office, Tiffany and the pilot

## Transcript

A sitting American congressman swam out of a sinking plane on Saturday night, then stood in a lake and waited about fifteen minutes for a boat
He is Tom Tiffany, a Republican from Wisconsin. He is also, right now, his party's nominee for governor of that state
He was flying home from a dinner in La Crosse County. The aircraft was a Beechcraft K35, a single-engine plane that seats five. Two people were on board.
On the approach to Wausau Downtown Airport, it lost power. The pilot put it down on Lake Wausau
As the plane began to submerge, Tiffany wrote, "We exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat."
The sheriff's office logged the nine one one call at eight forty-nine in the evening. A fire department airboat reached them at nine oh five
Both men came out with minor injuries. Tiffany took a small cut above his right eye and spent the night in hospital with his wife beside him
"God was watching over us tonight," he said. "An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is."
The plane is still in the lake. Crews are working to pull it out, and two federal agencies now want to know why the engine quit

## Related

- [OpenAI, Anthropic And Google Want To Write Their Own AI Rules.](https://news.recordx.co/story/openai-anthropic-and-google-want-to-write-their-own-ai-rules/)
- [He Quit Anthropic To Warn About AI. Its Safety Lead Agreed.](https://news.recordx.co/story/he-quit-anthropic-to-warn-about-ai-its-safety-lead-agreed/)
- [They Tried To Take Off Again. The Wheels Were Already Down.](https://news.recordx.co/story/they-tried-to-take-off-again-the-wheels-were-already-down/)
- [New York Said The Air Was Safe. Its Own Files Say Otherwise.](https://news.recordx.co/story/new-york-said-the-air-was-safe-its-own-files-say-otherwise/)