This is the moment the US Coast Guard rescues a pilot after they crash-landed in the sea.

The incident took place off the coast of Fourleague Bay, just south of the city of Morgan in the US state of Louisiana on Tuesday morning.

The US Coast Guard was informed of the plane crash at 8.18am and that one person was seen exiting the aircraft.

The authorities sent a search and rescue team to the area inside a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter to assist.

The Dolphin is a twin-engined helicopter that is regularly used by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) in medical rescues as well as search and rescue (SAR).

Also on the scene was a St. Mary’s Parish Sheriff’s Department boat crew who provided assistance during the rescue operation.

The Coast Guard rescued the pilot, name not disclosed, of the downed 2002 Cessna 182T plane and hoisted them onboard the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter.

Footage shows the white-coloured plane upside down in the water with its wheels pointing skywards, and what appears to be a person sitting between the wheels.

Another person believed to be a rescuer is also in the water alongside the plane’s pilot who was wearing a yellow lifejacket.

The rescued person, after being winched on board, was then handed over to a waiting team of medics at a nearby hospital near the city of Morgan.

The local authorities confirmed that the pilot only suffered minor injuries and was the only person on board the single-engine plane when it crashed in the sea.

It is unclear if the plane has been recovered from the water, and if the local authorities are investigating the incident.

New Orleans is the headquarters for the eighth Coast Guard District, responsible for Coast Guard operations spanning 26 states including the Gulf of Mexico coastline from Florida to Mexico, the adjacent offshore waters and outer continental shelf, as well as the inland waterways of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee River systems.

It is unclear what caused the accident as the single-engined American built Cessna 182 Skylane is that was introduced in 1956 is regarded as a reliable light utility aircraft.

Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a number of variants, including a version with retractable landing gear, and is the second most popular Cessna model still in production, after the 172.

A study in 2016 found that the Cessna 182 had a fatal accident rate of 0.74 per 100,000 hours of flight time which was better than the average for private aircraft.