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HILO, Hawaii — A small plane ran out of fuel and was ditched in the ocean several miles off Hawaii’s coast, but the pilot was rescued by Coast Guard crews who had flown alongside and coached him on crash-landing in the choppy seas.
Dramatic video released by the Coast Guard shows the plane gliding low over the water and then splashing down. Within seconds the pilot climbs out onto a wing as a helicopter lowers a rescue swimmer, who helps him enter a basket so he can be hoisted to the hovering aircraft.
Police identified the pilot as Charles Brian Mellor, 65, of Puerto De Santa Maria, Spain.
Denver Post wire services
