Pilot ‘heard voice’ telling him to take off three minutes early

A devout Christian pilot, Ricosetta Mafella, believes divine intervention saved the lives of 148 passengers and crew members when he took off from Palu airport in Indonesia just seconds before a devastating earthquake struck. On 28 September 2018, strong winds had delayed Mafella’s landing, which in turn pushed back his departure time. However, he says he heard a voice, which he believes was from God, telling him to leave early. Acting on this message, he hurried the boarding process and took off at 6.02pm, exactly when the 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck, causing massive destruction and loss of life.

Mafella credits his timely departure to God’s warning and the actions of air traffic controller Anthonius Gunawan Agung, who stayed at his post to clear the flight for takeoff while everyone else evacuated. Agung tragically died while trying to escape the collapsing tower after giving the final clearance for Batik 6321 to depart. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami claimed over 4,000 lives, but Mafella remains convinced that God’s guidance and Agung’s bravery averted disaster for his flight.