Amazing footage filmed by a USCG C-130 of a small plane (saved by parachute) ditching off Hawaii

Interesting footage of a Cirrus ditching in the Pacific Ocean filmed by a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 Hercules.

On Jan. 26, a Cirrus SR-22 plane on delivery flight across the Pacific from San Francisco Bay area to a customer in Australia, was forced to perform a (successful) ditching off Hawaii, after running out of fuel.

The aircraft was supposed to perform a stopover at the Hawaii, but it failed to reach the destination because of a broken valve, which made the extra fuel tanks carried by the SR-22 to extend its endurance from 5 to 14 hours, unavailable.

The pilot tried to get as closer as possible to a ferry, about 250 from Maui, then deploy the safety parachute and come down to the surface of the sea.

A U.S. Coast Guard C-130 supporting the rescue operation filmed the Cirrus as it deployed the chute and came to a somehow gentle impact with the water.

The pilot was recovered about 20 minutes later.

 

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.