Pilot's Quick Thinking Saves 2 After Wisconsin Plane Crash

A plane losing power at night over water is every pilot's nightmare, but when it happened to Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany and pilot Leonard "Len" Boltz, decades of flying experience made all the difference between tragedy and survival.

The aircraft was on its final approach to Wausau Downtown Airport when the engine failed. Boltz had just seconds to react.

"Len said to me, 'We are going down. Pull your seatbelt tight,'" Tiffany recalled at a news conference Sunday, hours after leaving the hospital. Ten seconds later, they hit Lake Wausau.

The impact sent Tiffany's head into the dashboard, leaving him with a gash that required 12 stitches. Boltz, a former Air Force pilot trainer, received four stitches. But both men were conscious and able to move.

In those critical seconds before impact, Boltz made a decision that likely saved their lives. He raised the landing gear, preventing the plane from cartwheeling across the water at 70 to 80 mph. The aircraft stayed upright.

The two men checked on each other before water began flooding the cabin. They escaped through the passenger door and climbed atop the sinking plane.

For roughly 10 minutes, they waited on the slowly submerging aircraft as emergency lights appeared around the lake. Boltz called 911 from his phone. When the plane finally slipped underwater, they began swimming toward the airport.

Tiffany made it about 100 to 150 feet before finding a shallow spot where the water was only five feet deep. They waited there as rescue boats and thermal imaging equipment converged on the lake.

Dispatch audio captured the tense search as first responders called for more boats and ambulances, tracking the last GPS location of Tiffany's phone, now underwater. One responder noted they might be swimming to shore. Another reported losing contact.

Then came the words everyone hoped to hear: "We have two victims in the water. We're just pulling them out now." Minutes later, rescuers confirmed both men were alert and conscious.

Why This Inspires

Boltz's training kicked in at exactly the right moment. His decision to raise the landing gear in the seconds before impact, combined with his ability to bring the plane down level at night, turned a potential catastrophe into a survivable crash.

Wausau Mayor Doug Diny, himself a former military pilot, praised Boltz's skill. "The last thing anyone wants to do as a pilot is put the aircraft in the water at night," he said.

Tiffany's voice cracked with emotion as he reflected on their survival. "We are just really fortunate. We're really fortunate that God was looking after us last night."

Both men were treated and released from Aspirus Wausau Hospital the same night, and Tiffany plans to return to the campaign trail Monday.