WAUSAU, Wis. — Federal investigators are examining an emergency plane landing in Lake Wausau that left Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and pilot Leonard “Lenny” Boltz with minor injuries after the aircraft reportedly experienced engine issues Saturday night.
New video obtained Monday showed crews removing the Beechcraft K35 from the lake nearly two days after the incident.
TMJ4 News reporter Mike Beiermeister has the update in the video below:
According to the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, the plane was approaching Wausau Downtown Airport around 8:49 p.m. Saturday when it experienced what officials described as a mechanical issue.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday the pilot reported engine issues before the plane went down.
“This information is preliminary and subject to change,” the FAA said in a statement. “A Beechcraft K35 landed in Lake Wausau in Wisconsin around 8:50 p.m. local time on Saturday, Sept. 12, after the pilot reported engine issues. Two people were on board. The FAA will investigate.”
Authorities said Boltz, 73, of Pearson, and Tiffany, 68, of Hazelhurst, were able to exit the plane after it landed in the water and call 911 before swimming toward shallow water.
At 9:05 p.m., both men were rescued by a Wausau Fire Department airboat and taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.
On Sunday, Tiffany became emotional during a news conference while thanking Boltz for helping save his life.
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Now, fellow Republicans who know Boltz are describing the longtime pilot as experienced, calm under pressure and instrumental in helping avoid a tragedy.
Milwaukee County GOP Chairman Hilario DeLeon said he has known Boltz for years through Republican politics in Wisconsin.
“He’s a hero,” DeLeon told TMJ4. “He’s a hero for doing what he did in the split seconds that he had when the plane lost power.”
DeLeon also described the nighttime water landing as extraordinarily difficult.
“This was one hell of a landing at night on a lake,” he said. “All the things that could have gone wrong didn’t go wrong because of his training and his experience.”
Eighth District GOP Chairman Ken Sikora said Boltz is well-known and trusted among Republicans in northern Wisconsin and has decades of flying experience.
“Lenny’s a patriot,” Sikora said. “He’s a guy that’s not afraid to say what he thinks. He’s a fun guy. He’s also very intense and very motivated.”
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Sikora said he has been texting with Boltz since the incident and believes the pilot is taking the situation hard despite surviving.
“I’ve heard that he’s taking this hard because he feels like he made a huge mistake even though it was no fault of his,” Sikora said. “That’s the kind of person he is.”
Sikora also credited Boltz’s experience with helping both men survive.
“This plane could have flipped over, one little mistake, and they’re not here,” he said.
The FAA investigation remains ongoing.
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