A plane crash-landed Sunday morning in the Androscoggin River in Topsham after its pilot had reported mechanical issues, according to officials. The pilot, who has yet to be identified publicly, was brought to shore by two kayakers and taken to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening. Topsham Fire & Rescue Department photo

A small plane crash-landed Sunday morning in the Androscoggin River in Topsham after its pilot had reported mechanical problems, according to fire and rescue officials.

Crews were called to the river just after 10:30 a.m. The pilot, who has yet to be identified publicly, was able to get himself out of the plane and was picked up by two local kayakers, according to Topsham Fire and Rescue Chief Christopher McLaughlin.

The kayakers brought him to shore, where Topsham crews were waiting in the rescue boat to drive him the two miles to the ambulance, McLaughlin said.

He was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The yellow plane, a 1947 fixed-wing single-engine Aeronca 7AC or “Champion,” is registered to Anthony Pringle, of Durham, according to records from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was fully submerged, and as of Sunday night, was still in the river, McLaughlin said.

The pilot said there were about six gallons of aviation fuel on board but McLaughlin said crews did not see a “sheen” or any other sign of fluids in the water. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection was called to the scene.

McLaughlin said the pilot, a seasoned flier, took off from Brunswick Executive Airport.

“He recognized he had a problem and made a quick decision to land it down in the river,” he said, adding that it was a “great choice.”

“I’d say he did everything he was supposed to do,” McLaughlin said.

Fire & rescue said the scene had been turned over to the “proper authorities.”

McLaughlin said the situation ended well thanks to the combination of two good samaritans and a seasoned pilot.

“It could have been much worse,” he said.

Topsham fire units were assisted by the Topsham Police Department, fire crews from Lisbon and Brunswick and the Maine Warden Service.

The Federal Aviation Administration was notified of the crash.