Ship rescues Aussie pilot after crash

HONOLULU -- A pilot who treaded water for hours in the Pacific Ocean after his small plane crashed, and then spent part of the night bobbing in a life raft, was rescued by a container ship early yesterday and was doing well, shipping officials said.

Ray Clamback, 67, of Australia, was spotted Monday evening by the crew of a C-130 airplane from Honolulu that had been searching for him for about seven hours, said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Marsha Delaney. His plane had gone down about 750 miles south of Oahu. He climbed into a life raft dropped from the C-130, and about 9 hours later he was picked up by the crew of the container ship P&O Nedlloyd Los Angeles, which was on its way from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia, Delaney said.

Crew members reported Clamback was ''safe and sound and in good shape," said a spokeswoman for the P&O Nedlloyd shipping company in London, who wouldn't give her name.

The spokeswoman said the ship was expected to reach Melbourne by next Tuesday, and that Clamback would go from there to his home in Sydney.

Delaney said Clamback was the only person aboard the Cessna 182, which was flying with a second Cessna from Hilo on the island of Hawaii en route to Pago Pago, American Samoa.

The pilot of the second Cessna circled the debris field until the C-130 arrived, then continued on his way, Delaney said.