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Tunisian pilot who prayed while crash landing a plane gets 10 years in jail
If I were a pilot landing a plane after the engines had conked out on me, I might pray. That doesn't mean I'd take my hands off the controls and stop doing my part to aim for a safe landing, but perhaps there would be words beseeching a power bigger than myself for a dose of divine intervention. It couldn't hurt. Right?
For the Tunisian pilot I read about in the guardian.co.uk, uttering a prayer out loud got him in hot water when his case went to court. Back in 2005, he crash-landed a Franco-Italian ATR 72 charter plane into the Mediterranean off the coast of Sicily after the engine stopped working because the wrong fuel gauge had been mistakenly installed by a mechanic. The fuel gauge was too small, thus the plane didn't have enough fuel. As a piece of information to keep in mind, the smaller gauge looked the same as the larger gauge.
At the time of the crash, the pilot was considered a hero since everyone on board didn't die. Twenty-three people survived. After the investigation and trial, the tides have turned. The Italian court has decided that the pilot should have tried to glide the plane to Palermo. The court thinks that if he had done this, the 16 who died would not have. His prayers meant that he stopped doing his job correctly.
I guess these people didn't hear about the US Airways plane crash landing on the Hudson River after the pilot was told to try to make it to an airport. What's intriguing about this latest case is that the Tunisian pilot is Muslim. Calling out to Allah doesn't seem to translate all that well in Italian court.
The co-pilot, mechanic and other airline executives are also going to jail. The charges include manslaughter.
Filed under: Italy, Airlines, Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 7 of 7)
West Mar 30th 2009 2:07PM
oh for God's sake.. get real people.. all he did was pray and gets jail time... wtf
susan Mar 30th 2009 2:21PM
Yes not every Christians, Muslims, or Jew are killers but when a Christians and Jews make a mistake in America, they pay fro their crimes! Because Christians and Jews seem to be judged more harshly than Muslims have ever been in America! Muslim, Christians and Jews in America get along for the most part. But onlyrecently have they taen to Jihad and have killed in countries that have taken many Muslims in for religious reasons. But only recemtly have many Muslims taken a dislike to the Countries they are in! And Italy, New Zealand and Australia dont allow them to get away with their crimes against those countries for they are mostly Christian Governments! We in America should be just as hard on them too! If not theyw ill take over liek they have in France!
bobbie j Apr 6th 2009 7:58AM
This is crazy. The pilot is a hero in deed, and i hope God comes to his rescue again.
Heidi Maass May 21st 2009 11:13AM
As a Christian, I know from daily experience it is very possible to pray (silently or out loud) while keeping one's concentration (and hands) on the task at hand. I believe that God is good to all who call on Him. I would much rather my pilot pray than curse while in such a crisis situation! Prayer can also keep a person from panicking so that they can truly concentrate on the emergency they are in. I am not a muslim, but this pilot should not have been condemned for praying. If he was acting unwisely by landing in the water rather than at Palermo, then this should be examined and dealt with appropriately- although if I had been a passenger on his aircraft I would have been extremely grateful for the saving of my life and told him so! I pray blessing and salvation and comfort for this pilot and his family; it must be a shock to have the jail sentence after all this!