Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

The pilot of a light plane walked away uninjured after engine trouble forced him to crash in a reserve at Bucklands Beach in east Auckland.

Police say the aircraft crash-landed at a reserve between Macleans College and Eastern Beach just before 3pm on Sunday.

Inspector Chris Robinson says the plane was travelling from Taupo to the North Shore when it developed engine troubles.

He says the pilot was close to Eastern Beach and so decided to do an emergency landing in Macleans Reserve.

Onlookers gathered at the reserve to take photos of the crashed aircraft.

The propellors were slightly bent and a tuft of grass and dirt sat underneath the plane, but it appeared to be otherwise undamaged.