A Whitehorse man is among three people who escaped from a frightening plane crash in Manitoba last Thursday afternoon.

RCMP said the men's Lake Buccaneer amphibious aircraft appeared to lose power during takeoff before hitting a beaver dam, flipping over and ending up in Wellman Lake at around 4 p.m.

The lake is part of Duck Mountain Provincial Park in western Manitoba, about 55 kilometres southeast of Swan River.

RCMP are not releasing the name of the man, who was a passenger in the plane.

Cpl. Dave Bettesworth of the Swan River RCMP said nearby family and friends were able to pull the men from the water not long after the plane crashed.

"It appears some family members or friends were in a boat taking pictures of the takeoff and they saw the plane go down,” he said.

Bettesworth praised the pilot's quick thinking for keeping events from turning tragic.

"If the pilot hadn't realized there was something wrong with the power so quickly and attempted to land, he could have ended up in the trees,” he said.

"If he hadn't hit the obstacle in the water, we probably wouldn't be talking about this.”

The plane was only a few feet off the ground when the pilot attempted to land, Bettesworth said.

All three men were taken to nearby Swan Valley Health Centre and released.

The Lake Buccaneer plane is a light, four-seat, single-engine plane.

The crash is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Manitoba Conservation and the Swan Lake RCMP.