The pilot suffered minor injuries but two passengers escaped unhurt after a light plane was forced to make a crash landing in a farmer's field near Gimli, Man., on Saturday.

The single-engine, four-seat Stinson aircraft came down along a tree line about 1 p.m. CT about three kilometres north of the Gimli airport and about half a kilometre west of Highway 8, RCMP said.

The pilot, a 63-year-old resident of Stonewall, had radioed the airport that he was having engine problems and was going to set down in the field.

The plane was making its first flight since having its engine rebuilt, the Mounties said. Gimli RCMP are interviewing witnesses.