Rep. Tom Tiffany survives emergency plane landing in Lake Wausau
On September 12, 2026, a Beechcraft K35 carrying U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) lost power while approaching Wausau Downtown Airport and made an emergency water landing on Lake Wausau. Tiffany and pilot Leonard Boltz exited the sinking aircraft, swam to a shallow area, and were rescued by emergency responders. Both sustained minor injuries and were treated at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
9
Divergence score
19 outlets covered it, splitting into 18 framing camps across 4 bias groups.
18 camps
4 bias groups
The spectrum · how 19 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
Breitbart
Daily Wire
CNN
Washington Times
NPR
Washington Examiner
ABC News
Jerusalem Post
Politico
CBS News
Newsmax
The Hill
Reuters
New York Times
BBC
NY Post
PBS NewsHour
Bloomberg
HuffPost
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
Furthest apart on this story
Breitbart
Rep. Tom Tiffany Swims To Safety After Small Plane He's in Loses Power, Ditches in Wisconsin Lake
dramatic survival and divine providence · positive
Jerusalem Post
US Rep. Tom Tiffany says he sustained minor injuries after plane makes emergency landing
brief wire-style summary · neutral
First to report
- Reutersfirst
- CNN+6.0 h
- Daily Wire+6.1 h
- CBS News+7.4 h
- NY Post+8.1 h
- New York Times+9.7 h
- Newsmax+9.9 h
- The Hill+11.6 h
- HuffPost+12.0 h
- ABC News+12.3 h
- Politico+12.5 h
- Washington Times+12.5 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
Headlines that changed · the same article, re-listed with a new headline
CNN · 2026-09-13 13:28 UTC
Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany suffers minor injuries when his plane makes an emergency landing in a lake - CNN
CNN · 2026-09-13 15:32 UTC
Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany suffers minor injuries when his plane makes an emergency landing in a lake - cnn.com
PBS NewsHour · 2026-09-14 04:23 UTC
Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake - PBS
PBS NewsHour · 2026-09-14 05:36 UTC
Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake - pbs.org
PBS NewsHour · 2026-09-14 06:13 UTC
Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake - PBS
+ Show 3 more Show fewer
PBS NewsHour · 2026-09-14 06:50 UTC
Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake - pbs.org
PBS NewsHour · 2026-09-14 13:40 UTC
Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake - PBS
PBS NewsHour · 2026-09-14 15:52 UTC
Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake - pbs.org
The split, in one line
Coverage now splits between personal survival narrative (PBS, Bloomberg, HuffPost) and political implications (right-leaning outlets emphasize divine protection; left-leaning stress House Freedom Caucus context), with factual wire details consistent across all outlets.
How each outlet covered it
Broad agreement on what happened
Outlets across the spectrum land in roughly the same place: the shared language is highlighted.
THE LEFT
“Wisconsin congressman swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a lake”ABC ABC News LEFT-CENTER
9LOW DIVERGENCE
THE RIGHT
“Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency lake landing”WE Washington Examiner RIGHT
DOWN THE MIDDLE
“Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate swims to safety after emergency landing - Politico” · Jerusalem Post, Politico, The Hill, Reuters, BBC, PBS NewsHour, Bloomberg
+Hide the full sourcingSee how all 19 outlets put it
LEFT4
CNNCNN Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany suffers minor injuries when his plane makes an emergency landing in a lake - CNN 45d ago NPRNPR Wisconsin congressman survives emergency plane landing, swims to safety 45d ago TNew York Times Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin Representative, Sustains Minor Injuries After Plane Lands in Lake 45d ago HPHuffPost 'The Plane Began To Submerge': GOP Rep Says He Had To Swim To Safety After Emergency Landing 45d ago LEFT-CENTER2
ABCABC News Wisconsin congressman swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a lake 45d ago CBSCBS News Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany suffers minor injuries after emergency landing in a lake - CBS News 45d ago CENTER5
PPolitico Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate swims to safety after emergency landing - Politico 45d ago HThe Hill Tiffany suffers minor injuries after plane makes emergency lake landing 45d ago RReuters US Rep. Tom Tiffany says he sustained minor injuries after plane makes emergency landing 45d ago PBSPBS NewsHour Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a Wisconsin lake - PBS 45d ago BLBloomberg Wisconsin Governor Candidate Injured When Plane Lands in Lake 45d ago RIGHT6
BBreitbart Rep. Tom Tiffany Swims To Safety After Small Plane He's in Loses Power, Ditches in Wisconsin Lake 45d ago DWDaily Wire Battleground GOP Candidate Survives Overnight Plane Crash Over Lake 45d ago WTWashington Times GOP congressman from Wisconsin swims to safety after plane makes emergency landing in a lake 45d ago WEWashington Examiner Rep. Tom Tiffany swims to safety after plane makes emergency lake landing 45d ago NMNewsmax US Rep. Tom Tiffany Sustained Minor Injuries After Plane Makes Emergency Landing - Newsmax 45d ago NYPNY Post Wisconsin GOP governor candidate swims from sinking plane after emergency lake landing 45d ago 9 tracked claims across 19 outlets
Fact ledger
All9Claimed1Corroborated8
1/19
Claimed
CNN described Tiffany as a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus
Corroborated
Disputed
8 more tracked claimsSign up free to see the full ledger