LEWISTON — A desperate mother took matters into her own hands as her 5-year-old daughter was trapped in an overturned float plane — she grabbed a rescuer's goggles and plunged into the water herself to free the child.

Beth Lamberson of North Yarmouth was credited with saving her daughter from drowning after the plane flipped, killing the 69-year-old pilot.

The dramatic details were contained in a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board on the Aug. 4 crash in Kezar Lake.

Lamberson, her husband and their two children had gone for a sightseeing trip with pilot Joseph Soleri when the Cessna float plane flipped while landing, apparently when the wheels on the pontoons caught the water, the NTSB report said.

"As the airplane touched down on the water, they felt like it skipped and immediately went over on the nose in a (somersault)," according to the report. "The cabin filled with water immediately, and it got dark and quiet."

Beth Lamberson escaped the overturned float plane with her 3-year-old son, Kyle, through a back exit. Her husband, Kevin Lamberson, kicked out the windshield to escape. But 5-year-old Lauren remained strapped in her seat behind the cockpit.

One of the people who arrived on the scene dived into the water and found Lauren strapped in her seat, but he couldn't free her, the report said.

"The mother took the goggles, saying that she knew how to release the seat belt, and proceeded to go down and get her daughter," the report said.

The report credited Soleri's safety briefing for the family's ability to escape. Thanks to the briefing, Lamberson knew how to work the latch to free her daughter, who was taken to the Maine Medical Center for treatment.

"Joe took the time to review emergency evacuation procedures with us prior to takeoff, as every pilot should, and that is what saved the lives of the three of us in the rear seats," the Lamberson family said in a statement.

While the Lamberson family is happy that their 5-year-old was released from the hospital and will soon start kindergarten, there was mourning for Soleri, an experienced pilot and longtime manager of the town's Eastern Slopes Regional Airport.

"Joe Soleri was a highly respected pilot who took his responsibilities very seriously when he took to the sky. We would never have entrusted our family to a less accomplished or careful man," the family said.