This is the dramatic moment brave villagers tried to rescue a flying instructor and his passenger after their light plane crashed into a pond in Thailand.

Pilot Pragij Sappipattana, 54, and female pupil Saeng Chantima, 45, were onboard the Tecnam P92 JS monoplane from Chiang Mai province when the aircraft was sent into a tailspin on March 8.

It plunged into a private pond in Samut Sakhon province, jolting residents who saw the plane flying low before the crash.

Dramatic footage shows how the villagers scrambled to save Pragij and Saeng from the wreckage.

They had already pulled Saeng ashore and tried to revive her with smelling salts while a group of men struggled to cut Pragij out of his seat.

They managed to do so after several tense minutes and carried him back to dry land. However, the flying instructor, who is also the manager of the local 'Friends Flying Club', had already died at the scene.

Khok Kham police and medics arrived at 7:40 AM to retrieve his body and rush Saeng to the Samut Sakhon Hospital.

In a statement, the Samut Sakhon Provincial Security Office said: 'Khok Kham Police Station investigators have arranged for an autopsy of the deceased and to block the area for an investigation.'

Officers said they believe the crash was caused by engine failure. They will question Saeng once she is well enough for interrogation.