The plane crashed off the Tasman Coast around Ruby Bay. File picture. Photo: CC 4.0 BY-SA / André Brett
A pilot winched from the ocean after ditching his plane off the coast near Golden Bay was uninjured, according to the rescue pilot who found the man.
Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter Trust pilot Deon Edgar says the man was located floating at sea around 11 miles off the coast, having ditched his plane following an engine failure.
Edgar said the man had been in the water for about an hour when they found him.
He said the plane had sunk by the time they located the man, but he had managed to communicate his coordinates via a mayday call.