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New records: Tom Tiffany plane water landing
The Marathon County Sheriff's Office responded to Lake Wausau, where a plane carrying U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany emergency landed in the water on Sept. 12.
WAUSAU, Wis. - Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany's small plane lost power and made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau while returning from a campaign event on Sept. 12.
Tiffany and the pilot exited the sinking aircraft, swam to a shallow area, and were rescued by a Wausau Fire Department boat.
Now officials are detailing the work and effort that went into safely removing the aircraft from the lake.
Tom Tiffany plane water landing, records detail emergency response
The Marathon County Sheriff's Office responded to Lake Wausau, where a plane carrying U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany emergency landed in the water on Sept. 12.
Recovering the aircraft
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The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team was tasked with helping recover the aircraft, a Beechcraft Bonanza.
The plane weighed about 2,500 pounds and rested in six to seven feet of water with its landing gear retracted. The sheriff's office said that recovering it without causing more damage required more than simply attaching a line and pulling it to shore.
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Plane recovery in Lake Wausau
Before divers entered the water, the team worked through how the aircraft could be safely lifted, supported, and moved. They reviewed the aircraft's design, identified possible attachment points, considered its center of gravity, and determined how much lift would be needed.
A local aircraft owner also gave crews access to a similar Beechcraft Bonanza at Wausau Downtown Airport.
The shallow water also complicated efforts. Although six to seven feet of water may sound like it would make the job easier, it created one of the larger challenges. The team planned to use inflatable lift bags to raise the aircraft from the bottom, but shallow water leaves less room for those bags to expand and provide lift.
On Monday, Sept. 14, the team began the recovery by deploying its Remote Operated Vehicle, or ROV. The ROV documented the aircraft and gave the team another look at the underwater conditions before divers went to work.
Plane recovery in Lake Wausau
Divers rigged the aircraft and attached the lift bags. The team used about 8,000 pounds of lift capacity to raise the aircraft from the bottom.
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Plane recovery in Lake Wausau
Once the aircraft was suspended in the water, it was moved into deeper water and carefully towed to shore. The divers then removed the lift bags and secured the aircraft so that a crane could lift the aircraft out of the water.
The aircraft was later returned to Wausau Downtown Airport for the Federal Aviation Administration’s investigation.
The Source: The Marathon County Sheriff's Office posted the information on its Facebook page. FOX6 has extensively reported on the plane crash into Lake Wausau.