Coast Guard Rescues Pilot From Gulf Of Mexico After Crash

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Coast Guard says it rescued a man after his plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast.

Coast Guard spokesman John Michelli says crews received an alert from an emergency transmitter before noon Sunday and plucked 65-year-old Robert Hodges from the water a little more than an hour later. Hodges was wearing a life jacket, and his emergency locator gave rescuers his approximate location.

The Coast Guard says Hodges was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

His plane crashed about eight miles (13 kilometers) from Southwest Pass, Louisiana. The Coast Guard says a Southwest Airlines flight in the area relayed a mayday call to air traffic controllers.