A small plane made an emergency landing in a field near the Gatineau airport Saturday afternoon.

A Maule MT-7-235 passenger plane made a distress call to air traffic control at the Executive Gatineau-Ottawa Airport just before 3 p.m., police said.

The pilot tried to land on Highway 50, but there were too many cars. Instead, the plane landed in a field but hit a hill and the momentum flipped the aircraft.

The pilot and a passenger sustained minor injuries when the plane finally stopped about six kilometres northwest of the airport.

Hidir Cetin said he was in his house when he heard a loud noise.

"I heard a loud noise at home, like metal. I was with my brother and my family. When I went out, I saw that he had fallen. I left the phone and said [to my family]: call the police and the ambulance," he said.

Cetin then helped a woman and a man to climb out of the overturned plane. He said he smelled gas and was afraid the plane would explode.

Firefighters said mechanical problems are likely to blame for the emergency landing.