Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany says he and pilot Leonard “Len” Boltz survived a terrifying nighttime water landing after their single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza suddenly lost power on approach.
Boltz reportedly had only seconds to react.
“We are going down. Pull your seatbelt tight,” Tiffany recalled the pilot telling him.
About 10 seconds later, the aircraft slammed into the water at an estimated 70–80 mph.
Tiffany struck his head on the dashboard and needed 12 stitches. Boltz also suffered injuries.
But the danger was far from over.
The damaged aircraft began filling with water and sinking beneath them. The two men escaped through a passenger-side door, climbed onto the aircraft and waited as emergency crews raced toward the dark lake.
Then the plane disappeared beneath the surface.
Dispatch audio captured the frantic search as rescuers scrambled for boats, ambulances and engines. Investigators even tried using the last GPS location of a phone believed to be underwater.
At one point, a responder warned: “We’re going to be in search for a down plane.”
The men eventually began swimming toward shore. Tiffany said they reached a shallow section of the lake, about 5 feet deep, and stayed there while watching emergency lights approaching.
Then came the words rescuers had been desperately waiting for:
“We have two victims in the water. We’re just pulling them out now.”
Both men were found alive, alert and conscious.
Tiffany credited Boltz’s experience, including raising the landing gear before impact, with helping prevent the aircraft from flipping.
“I just take that to the skill of the pilot,” Tiffany said.
The plane remained submerged while investigators began examining what caused the sudden loss of power.
For Tiffany, the terrifying night ended with survival—and a promise that it would not stop his campaign.
“We’re just really fortunate,” he said, becoming emotional. “We’re really fortunate that God was looking after us last night.”
A plane plunging into a dark lake at night could have ended very differently. Instead, two men walked away alive.
