Light plane crashes in Tasman Bay

A pilot has been rescued from Tasman Bay on Tuesday evening after ditching his aircraft into water off the coast of Tasman when it suffered engine failure.

Emergency services responded after reports a plane crash landed off the coast of Tasman on Tuesday evening.

The incident was reported around 7.30pm with rescue helicopters responding from Nelson and Wellington and at least one Airforce aircraft.  

The Rescue Coordination Centre NZ issued a statement saying the plane "ditched" in Tasman Bay 42km north of Nelson and the pilot had been winched to safety by Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter.

Nelson harbourmaster Stuart Whitehouse says they were called to the scene, along with Tasman harbourmaster and .

"We were cancelled on route (in quite bumpy conditions) as rescue heicopter had picked up pilot, aircraft reported as sunk.

"Airforce were also on scene and various commercial vessels responded.We'll monitor next day or so for signs of debris/pollution."

The pilot was the only person on-board and was flown to Nelson Hospital.