Edited for brevity.
A 67-year-old Australian pilot whose small plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean was spotted treading water after his aircraft went down about eight hours before, and a rescue ship was on its way, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. Ray Clamback was spotted Monday evening by a C-130 aircraft that was dispatched from Honolulu just before noon, said Chief Petty Officer Marsha Delaney, a Coast Guard spokeswoman in Honolulu. Clamback was able to climb into a life raft dropped by the C-130, but details of his condition or how he survived the ordeal weren't immediately available. His plane went down about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Oahu. Delaney said Clamback was to remain in the raft until he can be picked up by a container ship that was on its way to the crash site to help in the search. Officials said it was to arrive sometime around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
It's 2 PM EDT right now--hopefully they already picked him up an hour or two ago! |