In a textbook rescue mission, a woman and man aboard a small plane escaped injury yesterday after ditching in the ocean about 535 miles northeast of Hilo, Hawai'i.

But there's a hitch: The pair who were rescued have ended up being en route to China, on an unscheduled cruise aboard the Maltese container ship Virginius, which picked them up.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Brooksann Epiceno said the Virginius, which deployed a small boat to pick up the two people after the planned ditching was successful, is not stopping at any Hawai'i port. Since there were no injuries, the Coast Guard has no plans to send a ship to get the couple, Epiceno said.

The twin-engine Piper Seminole left Santa Barbara, Calif., yesterday and was en route to Hilo. It was 1,000 miles off the coast of California when the female pilot reported engine trouble but decided against turning back, Epiceno said.

The Federal Aviation Administration monitored communications between the Piper's pilot and another aircraft. The pilot said the Piper would not be able to reach Hilo.

The Coast Guard set up a plan for an ocean ditching. A Coast Guard C-130 from Kalaeloa and a Navy P-3C patrol plane out of Kane'ohe flew to a rendezvous location.

C-130 co-pilot Lt. j.g. Scott Caesar said the Coast Guard plane dropped 10 flares on the ocean surface at the rendezvous point to set up a visual mark for the small plane to ditch.

"For the most part, she seemed very calm and collected," Caesar said of the pilot.

The ditching went smoothly, Caesar said. "We expected her to go in nose high but it was a dead stop. There was a big splash of water and we saw them on top of the plane. They had to jump in the water before the lifeboat got there. The plane sank quickly, in under four minutes."

The Virginius was nearby and picked up the aviators.

Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.