Pilot Says God Helped Him Save 148 Passengers During Earthquake Escape
It can be easy to believe in miracles far-removed. Jesus feeding the 5,000 over 2,000 years ago? No problem!
But modern-day miracles? People being visited by angels or hearing the voice of God? That might be a little harder to swallow.
We live in a culture filled with skeptics and realists. More and more people are out to prove that God doesn’t really exist.
Try telling that to Indonesian pilot, Ricoseta Mafella, however. A man dedicated to his faith, Mafella likes to hum worship music while he flies.
But on Sept. 28, something was different when he sat in the captain’s seat. “God seemed like He was saying, ‘Hey just praise me and worship me,'” Mafella told CBN.
It was in that moment the commercial pilot began to sing out loud. What followed was a series of events that are too perfect to be mere coincidences.
Mafella described strong winds that caused him to delay his landing in Palu. The decision put him 9 minutes behind schedule.
But being ahead of schedule is the key that saved lives that day. As passengers from Palu boarded his plane for the next flight, Mafella claims he heard a voice in his head.
“Be quick, get out of this place. Depart early,” the voice said. Many of us might ignore such a warning, thinking it couldn’t possibly be real.
Mafella did not ignore the voice, though. He told CBN he heeded the warning and ended up departing 3 minutes ahead of schedule.
A small window of time, but just enough to matter. Mere minutes after Mafella’s plane was in the air, an earthquake hit the area below.
“The quake started at the Donggala area (at) … 5:55 pm,” the pilot told CBN. “I pushed back at 5:52.”
Sadly, that earthquake took the life of air traffic controller Anthonius Agung. Agung is the one who cleared Mafella for takeoff early.
“When I found out what happened, I was speechless,” Mafella shared with BBC. “I feel so deeply sorry. I could have died as well. He is my hero and our national hero.”
Divine intervention? Or strange coincidence? It’s hard to ignore the seemingly miraculous order of events that unfolded for Mafella and his 148 passengers.
When he returned to Palu, Mafella was able to witness the destruction he’d escaped. There had been a tsunami too, waves of which he had seen outside his window while airborne.
“God reveals everything,” he told CBN. It would seem God revealed himself to Mafella that day. This man’s faith is truly an inspiration.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
