Pilot Pulls Parachute in Dramatic Plane Escape Over Ocean

The U.S. Coast Guard captured the suspenseful moment when a pilot ran out of fuel and his plane quickly plummeted to the ocean.

The pilot had to ditch his aircraft about 253 miles northeast of Maui, Hawaii, on Sunday, when his single engine Cirrus SR-22 aircraft ran out of fuel.

Fortunately, the pilot was safe after the ordeal.

"At approximately 4:44 p.m. the pilot was able to deploy the aircraft's airframe parachute system and safely exit the aircraft into a life raft," according to the Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System.

After his plane splashed into the water, the pilot was rescued by a cruise ship that was in the middle of an 18-day round-trip cruise to Lahaina, Hawaii, from San Diego, California.

Holland America Line's ms Veendam cruise ship answered a request for assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard to assist after the plane's fuel system had a mechanical issue, the cruise company said.

From the pilot's life raft, Holland America Line crewmembers brought him aboard the ship and provided food and accommodations. The pilot, who was in "good condition," disembarked today at Lahaina, the cruise line said.

"January has been an eventful month for our ships with several rescues around the world, and we are honored to be able to assist in any distress situation when needed," Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, said in a statement.

This is the third sea rescue by a Holland America Line ship just this year. On Jan. 3, another ship ms Zuiderdam rescued eight crewmembers from a sinking vessel in the Caribbean. The next day the ms Zaandam ship rescued seven stranded crewmembers at the Arctowski Polish research station at King George Island in Antarctica.