WAUSAU, Wis. (CBS 58) — Republican nominee for governor Tom Tiffany says he is lucky to be alive after the plane he was traveling in lost power Saturday night and was forced to make an emergency landing in Lake Wausau.

Tiffany held a news conference Sunday, recounting the moments when the four-seat plane lost power as it approached Wausau Downtown Airport.

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Tiffany said the pilot, 73-year-old Leonard Boltz, warned him they were going down.

"Len said to me, 'We are going down. Pull your seatbelt tight,'" Tiffany said.

Boltz was able to land the plane in Lake Wausau. Tiffany said the pilot quickly raised the landing gear before hitting the water, a decision he believes may have saved their lives.

"If you leave your landing gear down, when you do a water landing, your plane can cartwheel," Tiffany said. "He was savvy enough and quick enough to think about, 'We have to pull that landing gear up.' He did that and might've saved us as a result."

As the plane began to submerge, Boltz was able to call 911.

Tiffany said he and Boltz then swam toward the airport, eventually reaching a shallow area where they waited for help.

Emergency responders later arrived by boat and rescued both men.

Tiffany and Boltz were taken to an area hospital. Tiffany said he hit his head on the dashboard and needed 12 stitches.

"We were really fortunate for what they did, and I can't thank them enough for helping us in this situation," Tiffany said. "The gravity of this is just hitting me at this point."

Tiffany became emotional as he described the moments in the water and their effort to swim to safety.

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He said he plans to return to campaigning but will not be able to fly for a few days.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what caused the plane to lose power.