The pilot of last night's plane that crashed west of Swift Current has been charged with impaired operation of a plane.

The small Cessna plane, piloted by Calvin Pahl, used a grid road to take off before crashing in a nearby field.

Scott Hunter, sergeant and detachment commander with the Swift Current Rural RCMP, said it's an incident which not everyone can say they survived.

"They lost control shortly after takeoff and were close to some power lines," he said. "In order to avoid the power lines, they banked hard to the right and ended up hitting some tree stumps out in the field."

Pahl and his passenger travelled about a kilometre and a half after leaving the ground before the crash, leaving both with minor injuries.

Pahl is the owner of the plane and was released from custody.

The 42-year-old is expected to appear in Swift Current Provincial Court on June 27.