A Cessna 180 crashed into Pine Coule Reservoir West of Stavley late in the afternoon of Monday, May 1.

Stavely's Aaron Arcand says he saw the plane circling the north end of the lake around five o'clock, but the plane kept getting lower and lower on each pass.

"He made contact with the water, and was kind of skipping a little bit. And then all of a sudden, the engine just revved right up, really crazy, and the nose went into the water and then the tail went up to almost a 90-degree angle with the water and then fell back down again."

Two men, the pilot and passenger made it out safely and were able to use a phone at a nearby Hutterite Colony to call authorities.

Nanton RCMP say the plane was on a test flight after recent repairs when it experienced engine failure.

They say the pilot was trying to make it to a nearby roadway, but was forced to land in the water instead.

Arcand was down the lake about a thousand yards, and says by the time he got to the scene the two men had already got themselves to shore and other than being wet and a little shaken were in good shape.