US Republican congressman and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany has described the terrifying seconds before the small plane he was travelling in crash-landed into a lake, saying it felt "like staring into the abyss." Tiffany, who was returning from a campaign event in La Crosse County, said the pilot warned him they were going down and told him to tighten his seatbelt moments before the aircraft hit the water hard as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport on Saturday night.

The four-seat Bonanza aircraft lost power on its final approach and made an emergency landing on Lake Wausau at around 9pm local time, according to the Marathon County Sheriff's Office. The plane remained upright and afloat just long enough for Tiffany and the pilot to force open a door and swim to shallow water before it began to sink, and they were later rescued by local law enforcement and first responders. Tiffany suffered a cut above his eye requiring 12 stitches, while the pilot needed four stitches, with both men escaping with only minor injuries; the wreckage was subsequently recovered from the lake on Monday.