Yesterday's crash of Ethiopian Airlines 302 from Addis Ababa to Nairobi is leaving a lot of people with raw emotions. First and foremost, I feel terribly for the families and friends of the 159 people who lost their lives onboard. It's heartbreaking. The stories go beyond that, though. Can you imagine what it's like to…
Continue reading: The Story Of The Guy Who Missed Ethiopian Flight 302…
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Here is a good link to an article in English from the top Greek newspaper.
Puts it into perspective. Number of times we vent because a flight is delayed or we miss a connection. Wow.
Because of events like these. I've learned there must be a reason for every obstacle.
A similar story... A Sales person in my company missed the Chicago AA flight that crashed in 1979. He decided to have dinner with a friend and leave later the next day.
Thank you for posting the translation. This is something we all tell ourselves will never happen to (me/us). I will admit, I think about this now more than I used to because of the recent Atlas Air 767 down in Houston. And now this. Should not be this common.
Glad the guy was able to make it entirely about him, and not a word of condolence for the 157 souls lost.
@David and Mao, the guy is barely in his right mind, having just escaped death by minutes. And this is written same day. His faculties are not as yours who can view it from a broad perspective from a far place. I’m sure he meant no disrespect to the dead.
@David@Mao: C'mon guys!!!! Did you read what Ben wrote on his post? "I can’t even imagine the emotions this guy must be feeling." That might explain why he did not had a word of condolence. I would be shaking for a long time and probably need some sort of help to get over this.
Wow. Just chilling to read, especially seeing the last passengers walking down the jetway, not knowing they would be dead within minutes. God wanted this man alive. I hope he finds the purpose that God has for his life.
And I do not hold against him that he was not offering condolences. He literally missed his own death by minutes. As Ben said, I can't imagine the thoughts going through his mind as chilling as it was to simply read about from afar! God bless him and all the families and friends of those lost. 🙁
Read the article link in the first comment. The guy had friends and colleagues that he lost on the flight. It's sad people make immediate judgement about someone not caring about the lives lost when they could spend a few more seconds reading.
^Really Will, really?
Read nothing of what the other commenters said, just straight to your own already debunked conclusion.
@ Derek But god wanted the other 159 people dead? Religious folks are just so irrational...It was simply a coincidence that this man missed his flight, nothing more nothing less.
God decides when days come for everyone! This person is so fortunate to have survived and he should thank God everyday he will live. I am a bit annoyed that he forgot to mention a word on the lives lost of that flight...!!!
@ will ..furthermore, if you bothered to read it was translated from Greek - English.
"David says:
March 11, 2019 at 10:19 am"
One of the most thoughtless comments I have ever read.
Many years ago had similar experience. Six friends were booked and set to board flight from Bogota to Cartagena. Night before early departure, one of them said he wanted to stay behind to see an attraction in Bogota. The other four being couples, I decided to stay with him for the extra day. Next morning flight took off and minutes later hit a mountain killing everyone aboard. Heard my name on radio as one of the missing.
I heard of another two people that had to be on that flight and canceled it because of schedule problams.
When God wants you to live you stay alive.
God gave and God took may God be blessed.
Even if so many people died the one that still lives needs to thank God.
And we all need to thank God that we weren't on that flight and we need to pray that such a tragedy should never happen again.
It definitely makes you think. I witnessed a similar incident when I was a firefighter in the Air Force. We had an aircraft go down while practicing for an airshow. I noticed a higher ranking officer in his flight suit walking around the scene and just assumed he was the commander of the squadron the aircraft was assigned to but as it turns out he was supposed to go up with those guys. They let him him pass so he could go to his daughters soccer game. He could actually see the plane go down from the where the fields were. Crazy!
This reminds me of some guy, I think he was Dutch, who was either already booked or considering catching the two Malaysia Airlines flights that ended up in 100% fatalities. I don't know if his story was confirmed or not, but I can't imagine missing one fatal flight let alone two fatal flights.
This brings out all the religious crackheads. Your god had nothing to do with this. But whatever brings you comfort.
Also this dude was telling HIS story the day of the event. I can’t even imagine. Please excuse him for not praying for all the dead. He’s not a pastor, not a politician. Cut him some slack. He’s happy to be alive.
The incongruence of thanking a god for saving one person when that god supposedly minutes later killed 159 who weren’t worthy will never stop baffling me. Hey, if that thought process helps you, then more power to you I guess. It’s a bit offensive when you insist on pushing it on everyone else though. The man who actually experienced this musing on the enormous effect of seemingly insignificant circumstances does affect me, and we can probably all agree that disasters like this make us pause and consider that life can’t be taken for granted.
Whether this guy is religious or not he certainly now has something to live for if he didn't before. To think how close he came to death makes one realize again how precious life really is and in some aspects how we all play Russian roulette whenever we board a plane, get in our cars or cross the street! I remember back in 2001 I was involved in a serious roll over automobile crash. The investigating Officer told me that I would have been killed instantly had I not been wearing my shoulder belt. The car was a crumpled mass of metal barely recognizable except for the passenger seat and immediate area surrounding it. What if? I had forgotten to wear my seatbelt that day....
You people who are criticizing the man for his lack of condolences for the lost souls...you don't even know what's going through his mind when he wrote this note. The man was shaken and who wouldn't be? So, give him a break you knuckleheads. As if you people would be so composed as to not miss a word or anything. Bunch of clowns. And to those who are God haters/deniers, just shut up. ..esp you @ J. So you are a non-believer - so I get it...but don't insult us or criticize us...sick of you people.
I'm not religious at all, but were I this guy, I imagine it would be really hard to shake the feeling that missing the flight happened for a reason. Even if it didn't. It's human nature to want to want to create rational explanations for things, even if the ultimate (and unknowable) truth is that it was just blind chance/dumb luck.
"would the ones that died also need to thank God?" Under the presumption the biblical God exists, then I'd assume so, since they'd be in heaven now.
Perpetually agnostic, I can understand people thanking God for not being on that flight. Telling others they "need" to thank God... eh.
Of course, telling the believers not to force belief in God on other people (basically saying "shut up") is somewhat counterintuitive, wouldn't that mean you're forcing nonbelief on them? 😉
@JoePro - No its not. Telling someone I dont want to hear about their manmade beliefs and nonsensical stories is not the same as telling them to not believe. It’s not atheists and agnostics immediately throwing religion at this. Bible thumpers are. And no I don’t care to hear about their idiotic beliefs.
If some nitwit wants to fund a pastors jet so be it. A fool and their money are soon parted.
I'm Jewish and by us every time we travel, we are thanking that nothing happened.
And not just this we are thanking every morning God that we woke up a new day.
So even if someone dies that day, we are still thanking God that we woke up.
And yes, even the one that died needs to thank God.
And not because you don't know why this happened to him or why it happened at all you don't need to thank God.
He knows what he did and what he will do.
And this doesn't make us stop crying for the people that died by this tragedy and by the other ones that happened from the world was created.
And for sure we don't stop praying that nothing should happen anymore not just to us but to anyone in this entire world.
But when it happens, we all need to thank God that we weren't their.
And the one that was almost their needs to thank God that nothing happened to him.
Don't get me wrong that i want with all this that everyone here should start believing.
But i only want that there should not be replies against religions and religion belief.
@Will
I guess reading comprehension is not for you eh, the post was translated by Facebook as Lucky already wrote.
There is a reason for everything. Thanks @cvfgbhn for your post. I'm with you.
Eerily, a man also escaped the certain death of AirAsia flight JT610. He was supposed to board the plane to return to his working place, but got trapped by one of the worst traffic jam ever.
His colleagues (they all were in Jakarta for official business) all flew in the unfortunate plane.
737 MAX 8... it seems to have gained a predilection to leave one survivor to tell the story...