Small plane parachutes to safety north of Hawaii

HONOLULU, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard captured footage of a small plane parachuting to a safe ocean landing after running out of fuel north of Hawaii.

The video, taken by officers with the U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii following a distress call from the unnamed pilot, shows the Cirrus SR-22 plane deploy its parachute Sunday and make a water landing before the pilot exits the plane in an inflatable raft.

The pilot, who was guided to the landing site by the Coast Guard after running dangerously low on fuel, was reported in good condition after being picked up by a Holland America cruise ship about 252 miles northeast of Maui.

"And the pretty unique thing about a Cirrus is that the aircraft itself has a parachute on board," Coast Guard Lt. JG. Michael Carman told KHON-TV. "So the aircraft orbited, and when they were 5,000 feet above the water, slightly in front of the cruise ship, they deployed their parachute."

The plane remained partially submerged Sunday night.