A light plane pilot has been rescued after ditching their aircraft into water off the Tasman coast this evening.
The pilot was the only person on-board when the plane crashed in Tasman Bay, 42km north of Nelson, around 7.30pm, Maritime NZ’s Rescue Coordination Centre told 1News in a statement.
They were “safely winched from the water by the GCH Nelson Rescue Helicopter” before being flown to Nelson Hospital.
Police say they were called to the scene following a report of a light plane crash landing off the coast of Tasman around 7.30pm.
Rescue helicopters from Nelson and Wellington, as well as a New Zealand Defence Force P-8A Poseidon that was en route from Christchurch to Ohakea, were called to the scene.
Coastguard Nelson and two harbourmaster vessels were also sent.
They have all since been stood down.
