Tom Tiffany plane crash: Pilot error, power loss to blame, NTSB says
WAUSAU, Wis. - Federal investigators determined power loss and pilot error are to blame for a small plane, carrying U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, crash landing into a Wisconsin lake last month.
Plane into Lake Wausau
The backstory:
Tiffany, the gubernatorial candidate for Wisconsin governor, was flying from La Crosse to Wausau on the night of Sept. 12. The plane lost power and made an emergency crash landing in Lake Wausau. Tiffany and the pilot, previously identified as Leonard Boltz, were able to get off the plane and swim to a nearby sandbar, where they were rescued.
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Why you should care:
Both Tiffany and Boltz needed stitches but were OK. Tiffany said his head hit the plane's dashboard. Both men were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and released.
Tom Tiffany plane crashes into Lake Wausau, how crews got it out
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany's small plane lost power and made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau back on Sept. 12. Now we're learning what it took to get the plane out of the water.
NTSB report
The Details:
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report on Oct. 14. According to the report, the pilot saw a higher-than-normal engine exhaust gas temperature while on approach to Wausau Downtown Airport, which reminded him to check the fuel tanks.
When the pilot switched to the right fuel tank and pushed the mixture and throttle levers fully forward, the report said the engine did not respond. The pilot said he didn't activate the electric fuel boost pump while trying to restore power and told an aviation mechanic "the loss of engine power was due to his delay in switching fuel tanks and not turning on the electric fuel boost pump."
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The NTSB ruled the cause of the crash as power loss due to the pilot's delay in switching fuel tanks and not turning on the booster pump to push fuel from the tank to the engine.
Expert weighs in
Dig deeper:
Dick Knapinski, the director of communications for the Experimental Aircraft Association, has three decades of flight experience. He talked to FOX6 News about what the NTSB report revealed on Wednesday.
"Flight instructors will often tell you, make sure you balance it out. Make sure you've got the right equipment. Make sure you've got that boost pump on," Knapinski said. "There's even acronyms that you use in training that you memorize that this is your mental checklist to go through as you approach for a landing to make sure you've got everything on. What happens sometimes is that people forget. I think any pilot has forgotten time to time and go, 'Oh, yeah, we've got to make sure we balance that out.'"
Tiffany campaign responds
What they're saying:
FOX6 News reached out to the Tiffany campaign for comment on the new report from the NTSB. In a statement, the campaign said:
"Tom will always be grateful to the pilot for his composure during the emergency. In a life-threatening situation, he remained calm and did what was necessary to ensure they both survived."
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional information.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Marathon County Sheriff's Office. FOX6 has extensively reported on the plane crash into Lake Wausau.