A woman and her teenage son have swum to shore after the light plane they were in crashed into the sea off Leighton Beach in North Fremantle. 

WA Police say the plane crashed about 30 to 50 metres offshore just after 5pm (WST) on Thursday and is now mostly submerged in the water.

The 45-year-old pilot, Michelle Yeates, and her 15-year-old son Jacob were checked over by paramedics after they reached the beach but were unharmed.

“They were both able to exit the plane and swim to shore,” police said in a statement.

The pair were flying to Jandakot Airport from Geraldton after viewing Thursday’s solar eclipse from Carnarvon.

Ms Yeates, a commercial pilot, experienced engine trouble and sent a mayday call before being forced to bring the plane down in the water. 

“I was only at 1500 feet, I didn’t have much time to react so I just sent out a mayday to the tower and then just turned around and landed on the water — I tried to get as close to the beach as I could without hitting anybody,” she said.

“You train to do that sort of thing so I’ve trained for that many, many times.”

Ms Yeates said she tried to land at the right angle so the plane wouldn’t flip over. 

Her son got the door open quickly and the pair got out as the plane was going down.

Police said Ms Yeates did an “exceptional job” bringing the plane down and the pair were lucky not to be injured.