A Civil Air Patrol plane crashed into a wet meadow next to the Upper Truckee River early Saturday leaving one of its three occupants, all from South Lake Tahoe, with an injured ankle.

The pilot, Valerie Dearborn, 51, guided the single-engine plane to an emergency landing about a mile north of Lake Tahoe Airport after it experienced mechanical problems.

The problems caused the plane’s tail to dip and not respond to correction, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department. Glenn Smith, 74, a passenger on the plane and observer for the South Lake Tahoe’s Blackhawk Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, complimented Dearborn’s performance under pressure.

“She did a wonderful job,” Smith said. “She just glided it into the best site she could — fortunately, it was real soft landing material.”

The Civil Air Patrol plane, owned by the Air Force, was en route to Winnemucca, Nev., to join the search for a missing Cessna plane. The air patrol is a volunteer organization that conducts search missions and raises money for its cadets.

Dearborn’s plane came to rest upside down around 6:15 a.m. about 40 feet from its engine, which appeared to have been sheared off, said South Lake Tahoe Fire Capt. Sean Ward.

“The plane was pretty beat up actually, but still intact,” Ward said. “They’re extremely fortunate to be alive. On crashes I’ve been on, anything like that most people don’t make it.”

Co-pilot Todd Hallmayer, 52, suffered a cut to his face. Smith was treated and released from Barton Memorial Hospital after experiencing chest and shoulder pain.

“I breathe a little different and don’t have all the strength in my arms,” Smith said Sunday afternoon.

Dearborn suffered an ankle injury and was carried out of the flooded meadow on a gurney by the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

“There were three little water ways to get over, about ankle deep, just to get to the plane,” Ward said. “But we were right on it … it didn’t take us very long.”

The rescuers’ concerns about the possibility of the plane exploding were eased because the engine of the aircraft had separated from the fuselage and there was no apparent fuel leak.

The Civil Air Patrol and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. On Sunday the plane still sat upside down in the meadow, just east of Longs Drugs .

“The NTSB always investigates airplane crashes and I don’t think they’ve had a chance to get out to the scene,” said Sgt. Steve Stroot, of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department.

Ken Plourde, manager at Longs Drugs, said he arrived to work Saturday morning about 15 minutes before the plane went down.

“A truck driver got here earlier and he heard the crash,” Plourde said. “The cops were going up and down. To me, it looked like they were trying to figure out how to get to the plane because it’s flooded back there.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.