Peter Ramsay posted on August 15, 2005 00:00 1441 views
The pilots of the Greek F-16 fighter jets will never forget what
they saw when they intercepted a passenger flight at 34,000 feet and
peered into the cockpit of the Boeing 737.
Flight ZU522 flying
from Cyprus to Athens with 121 people on board, reported air
conditioning problems 30 minutes after takeoff. Within minutes the
Boeing 737 lost all radio contact over the Aegean Sea heading towards
Greece. Two Greek F-16 fighter jets were immediately dispatched to
assist and escort the plane.
When the F-16s intercepted the
plane at 34,000 feet, jet pilots could see the co-pilot slumped over
his seat. The captain was not in the cockpit, and oxygen masks dangled
inside the cabin. It was a lifeless cockpit.
Apparently the
aircraft experienced a technical failure with its oxygen system
resulting in high-altitude decompression. When this occurs at an
altitude of 34,000 feet, the effects of depressurization are fairly
immediate and deadly.
For 43 helpless minutes, the two F-16’s
traveled with the passenger plane as it made its descent by auto-pilot.
At precisely 12:03PM the doomed flight slammed into a wooded gorge
outside of Athens.
There were no survivors. Bodies were found
with oxygen masks still on. Two of the dead in the wreckage still had
their arms wrapped around each other. Investigators said some of the
bodies were frozen solid.
The F-16 fighter pilots saw the grave
situation but were absolutely powerless to save the 121 passengers on
board. All they were able to do was watch it happen.
There is
spiritual lesson from this tragic story. The human race experienced a
catastrophic failure due to human error right after take-off. You can
read about Adam and Eve’s colossal error/sin in Genesis 3 of the Bible.
That one rebellious act plunged the entire human family into darkness
resulting in profound problems – not the least of which was alienation
from God. That one sin (Romans 5:12) infected the human race. Sin
spread like wild fire and permeated the entire human family, so much so
that the Bible concludes: “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
God
saw the helplessness of our condition. Without a major rescue
intervention, we would all perish eternally in our sins. But God did
more than watch. He looked into the cockpit of the human family and saw
our hopeless condition. He loved us despite our sin and did something
about it. “For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should
not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” 1 John 4:14. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15.
The
F-16 pilots flew with the doomed passenger jet for 43 minutes but could
do nothing to prevent the tragic end. Ultimately, they had to fly away
and let it happen. The spiritual parallel is a sweet contrast. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.”
Romans 5:6. I was a powerless sinner on a doomed flight to a lost
eternity in Hell, but Christ died for me the ungodly one and today HE
is my Saviour.
Are you resisting the only possible salvation available to you? God is willing and able to save you today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/15/international/europe/15greece.html?th&emc=th
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-08-14-greece-crash_x.htm