A desperate search unfolded across a dark Wisconsin lake after Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany’s powerless plane plunged into the water and disappeared beneath the surface with rescuers unsure where he and his pilot had gone. Dramatic dispatch audio captures crews calling for more ambulances, engines and boats as they raced to find the two men and tracked the last GPS location of a phone believed to be underwater. "We’re going to be in search for a down plane," one responder warned.
WISCONSIN GOP GOVERNOR CANDIDATE SWIMS FROM SINKING PLANE AFTER EMERGENCY LAKE LANDING Hours after leaving the hospital, Tiffany revealed Sunday that pilot Leonard "Len" Boltz had just seconds to react after the plane lost power on its final approach to Wausau Downtown Airport. "Len said to me, ‘We are going down. Pull your seatbelt tight,’" Tiffany recalled during a news conference.
"And that’s exactly what I did. I gave it a yank and pulled it good and tight." COAST GUARD PLANE WITH DHS SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN ON BOARD MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER ENGINE FAILURE "It was probably about 10 seconds later," he added. "We hit the water." The impact sent Tiffany’s head into the dashboard, leaving him with a gash above his right eye that required 12 stitches.
Boltz received four stitches for one of his injuries, Tiffany said. PILOT'S BRAVERY ON DISPLAY IN STEERING CRIPPLED PLANE CLEAR OF TRAGEDY IN DRAMATIC WATER LANDING The two men checked on each other before escaping through the passenger-side door as the plane began filling with water. Tiffany searched the cockpit for his phone but could not find it.
Boltz still had his phone and called 911. PILOT DECLARES MAYDAY BEFORE SEAPLANE COMES DOWN IN NEW YORK CITY’S EAST RIVER They climbed atop the slowly sinking plane and waited there for roughly 10 minutes as emergency lights appeared around the lake. As the aircraft slipped underwater beneath them, they began swimming toward the airport.
They made it roughly 100 to 150 feet before Tiffany reached a high spot in the lake where the water was about five feet deep. MULTIPLE INJURED AFTER FLOATPLANE MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING, CATCHES FIRE OFF WASHINGTON COAST "I said to Len, ‘Let’s just stay right here until help can come,’ because we could see the sirens," Tiffany said. His voice cracked as the gravity of the ordeal appeared to catch up with him.
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