Footage has emerged of the dramatic rescue of a pilot who became trapped after his plane crashed into the sea.

Mark Finkelstein had taken off from a North Carolina airport in early August when the engine of his small aircraft cut out off the coast of Oak Island, in the south-east corner of the state.

With a beach full of holidaymakers nearby, he attempted a water landing in the Atlantic Ocean, but footage shows that as the plane skims the water, it suddenly tilts forward and flips tail-over-nose.

Mr Finkelstein was trapped, surviving on air pockets at the back of the cockpit.

However, teams from the beach safety unit of the local fire department were on the scene almost immediately because they were responding to another incident nearby, and quickly set about rescuing the pilot