Coast
Guard saves overboard cruise passenger in ‘Thanksgiving miracle’
A 28-year-old man on a Carnival cruise from New Orleans spent a day floating in the Gulf of Mexico
By Gabe Hiatt
November
25, 2022 at 5:10 p.m. EST
In
a rescue United States Coast Guard officials are calling a “Thanksgiving
miracle,” a helicopter crew saved a 28-year-old man Thursday night after he
went overboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship and spent a day floating in the Gulf
of Mexico.
Coast
Guard officers in New Orleans received a call about a missing passenger from
the Carnival Valor at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, according to a news
release from the Coast Guard’s 8th District Public Affairs
Office. A rescue swimmer on an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter secured him at 8:25
p.m. Thursday about 20 miles south of Southwest Pass. The man was last seen on
the ship around 11 p.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard said, meaning he could have
been treading water through the night into Thanksgiving.
“This
is an exceptionally rare case,” Ryan Graves, a petty officer in public affairs
with the 8th District, told The Washington Post. “It is really nothing short of
a Thanksgiving miracle to be able to pick somebody up after that long in the
water without any sort of flotation device.”
Graves
said the man was in stable condition when he was rescued and was able to
provide his name to the team aboard the helicopter. The Coast Guard transported
him to emergency medical services waiting at New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
“We
are beyond grateful that this case ended with a positive outcome,” Seth Gross,
a Sector New Orleans search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a news
release. “It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watch standers, response
crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico
to locate the missing individual and get him to safety.”
“It
is why we joined, really, is to do things like this,” Graves said. “On a
holiday like this, it’s good to bring him back to his family.” Representatives
for Carnival Cruise Line declined to provide details about what the passenger
was doing before he went overboard but expressed their gratitude for the
rescue.
“We
greatly appreciate the efforts of all, most especially the U.S. Coast Guard and
the mariner who spotted the guest in the water,” Matt Lupoli, a spokesman for
Carnival Cruise Line, said in an email. Chris Chiames, the chief communications
officer, said in an email that cruise ship safety barriers are regulated by
Coast Guard standards to prevent falls. “Guests should never ever climb up on
the rails,” Chiames said. “The only way to go overboard is to purposefully
climb up and over the safety barriers.”
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CAUTION: If reading a story that has religious overtones offends you then pass the following by. As the editor of the PCN with the holiday season here, I think this story that is not mine but another’s who flew for Delta, is appropriate.
The following are actual
events. On March 14, 1986 there was an
attempted Delta hijack at DAB. I first
heard this story on a training film during recurrent in the late 80’s. But on March 24, 2004 a phone call, to the
now retired pilot, Eric McGrew, provided the additional information that was
needed to tell the “whole” story. This
rendition has been transcribed by Capt. Mark Sztanyo, Delta Air Lines.
“As Far as the East is from the West”
On this
spring arrival at the beautiful Daytona Beach International airport, it had
seemed just like a thousand other flights to similar Florida destinations, with
a familiar crowd seeking warm spring weather. It was an easy approach and landing to one of
Florida’s outstanding airports. And good
outside weather conditions boosted morale and made a day at the “office” a
pleasure. But those rather desirable
elements would soon be shattered by anything but normal or desirable. Because on March 14, 1986 a most unusual
event would soon occurr. In the midst of
the environment of the man-dominated world of flight, technology, and control,
God performed something unmistakably divine.
After deplaning the passengers, and while the aircraft was
being serviced outside, the crew stepped off the plane to stretch and get a
bite to eat. Everyone vacated the DC-9
except the First Officer, Eric McGrew.
He stayed behind for a short period to ready the craft for the return
flight to Atlanta. Eric was hired by
Delta Air Lines in 1973 and was a senior FO on the DC-9. It would only take him but a few minutes of
prep work and then he could be able to join the others in the terminal.
Eric is a tall lanky, deep voiced, and rather slow talking
southern gentleman. Not only was his
demeanor a good fit for what was about to take place, but his voice yields a
calm and colorful description of the events.
Eric finished his pre-flight work and was about to step off the plane,
when at the front doorway he was met by a 6’ and 230 lb. man wielding a gun and
ordering Eric to get back in the cockpit.
Though initially shocked that this person got through security and was
able to approach the aircraft alone, the gun flashing in Eric’s face, left
those questions aside, while Eric found himself trying to cope with these
anxious moments.
Dave Mitchell was a depressed, distraught and defeated
man. His marriage had failed, his career
was on hold, and for him his whole life had turned sour. Mitchell’s intent (though not immediately
known by Eric) was to commit suicide by forcing the pilot to get the DC-9
airborne and then seize control of the aircraft for a spiral of death. Eric, on the other hand, knew he had a
“situation” and reverted to our training in the best way he knew how. After the boarding door was closed and Eric
was ordered to start the engines, his mind quickly embraced our formerly
adopted procedures of DELAY and COMPLY, in the hope that this anxious person
could be persuaded out of his attempted hijack.
During the next few short minutes FO Eric McGrew tried a
series of delaying tactics that failed one after another. “I am only a First Officer and cannot fly the
airplane without the Captain,” said Eric.
Mitchell was undeterred. “We do
not have enough fuel for this,” said Eric.
Wherein Mitchell directly gazed at the fuel gauges and nodded his head
saying, “We have enough for what we are gonna do.”
That episode enlightened Eric in a couple of ways and made
the gravity of this hijack very real.
First, the hijacker knew exactly where the fuel gauges were, indicating
to Eric that this person had at least some degree of flight and aircraft
knowledge. For example, Eric told
Mitchell, at another time, that there was a failed hydraulic pump that needed
to be fixed before they could go, but the hijacker simply shook his head and
turned the hydraulic pump switch back on.
Now, Eric realized that he was dealing with a person that could not be
“snowed” easily.
Secondly, since the aircraft had just arrived and had not yet
been fueled, it only held a couple of thousand pounds of fuel per wing. When
Mitchell stated “we have enough fuel for what we are gonna do,” those words
fell like a cold chill in the cockpit.
Since there wasn’t enough fuel to launch and fly cross country, Eric
sensed for the first time, that this hijack mission was suicidal.
During the next few minutes there was a delay tactic rendered
like…..point…..counter-point. Eric would
leave the parking brake set and tell Mitchell it can’t taxi because of chocks,
but Mitchell pointed to the parking brake and told him angrily to release
them. Each tactic tried was met with a
knowledgeable response that thwarted Eric’s attempts. Not known to Eric, Mitchell had attended Embry-Riddle University
which is a renowned flight school in Florida.
He had acquired both pilot’s certificates and mechanic’s licenses and
had studied the systems of the DC-9.
Though Eric’s attempts at delay were creative and would have succeeded
with most unknowledgeable people, with Mitchell, they all failed miserably.
When Eric included the Control Tower and Delta Operations by
radio, Mitchell would not comply with
any directive from either. At one point
when Eric stated he had to enter into the plane’s transponder the hijack code,
Mitchell blurted out the numeric code from memory. So at every turn Eric seemed at a loss to
stop the progress of this hijack.
Shortly, they found themselves at the end of the taxiway holding short
of the active runway, and minutes away from certain death. Outside the aircraft the local SWAT team had
been activated and ordered to disable the aircraft. They chose to shoot out the tires of the nose
gear. That choice proved fruitless and
the aircraft remained capable of a take off within a matter of moments.
Eric was out of ideas and running short on time. A thought occurred to him as he reached into
his back pocket to pull out his wallet.
He was going to show Mitchell a picture of his four young daughters, and
tell Mitchell that they all need to have their father. Eric swallowed hard as he thought of that
very imminent inevitability of leaving the family he loved. Then as he directed a gaze into the hijacker’s
steely eyes of determination, Eric knew that this plea would be useless and he
somberly put his wallet away.
Mitchell poked the gun with new fervor, and said, “Let’s
go.” Eric knew the time was up. The
aircraft was now on the runway, and Eric didn’t have an idea, or a thought of
anything that could stop this action now. Sometimes you do not realize that God
is all you need, until God is all you’ve got.
Eric turned to Mitchell and said, “I am ready to go, but I have just one
more thing to say. You probably think
that there isn’t anyone in this world that loves you. But God loves you, and He loves you just the
way you are. The problem is that you are
a sinner.” By some intervention from on
high, Eric was allowed to continue this testimony while sitting on the runway
moments from lift off. For over 5
minutes Eric shared with Mitchell the love of God and the Roman Road with
verses to convict the heart. As Eric
was finishing up, the voice of Mr. Cox from Delta Air Lines came over the radio
with divine timing and said, “Mr.
Mitchell, you really don’t want to do this now do you? Why don’t you turn to the pilot and ask him
to taxi the plane back in?” With that,
Mitchell, staring for the first time away from Eric and straight ahead, paused
for a moment and then ordered authoritatively, “Taxi back in.” And the ordeal was shortly over.
Mitchell was convicted of this federal crime and
sentenced. Less than a month after
incarceration, Eric had an overwhelming conviction. He wanted to visit with Mitchell and see him
again. He wanted to tell him, just one
more time, that he held no ill will against him and that he forgave
him. That visit occurred in
Mitchell’s Orlando prison. As Eric
McGrew looked through the plexi-glass and spoke on the telephone intercom, Mitchell listened quietly and swallowed
soberly. Eric shared with him this
powerful passage. Psalms 103:12 “As far
as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from
us.” Mitchell, hung his head, thought
hard about the words, and thanked Eric for coming. Today, Mitchell has been released from prison
and is living back within society. The
status of his faith is yet unknown.
This actual event of how a testimony of God’s love, foiled a
hijacking, saved lives and changed the future, is incredible in its own right.
But there is more. Eric
McGrew is a man of faith and had been praying a very significant prayer. Flying with many flight crewmembers who lived
in a Godless way, Eric was convicted of a need.
For five years prior to this attempted hijack, Eric had prayed that he
be allowed to tell every pilot at Delta Air Lines that God loves them. This was an unusual thought and a frustrating
prayer. For Eric knew that he would
never have a chance to fly with even a fourth of our large pilot group. Yet
undaunted, he knew that many pilots needed to hear this truth. Our God, however, is a mighty God. The impossible becomes the possible. And what
was once frustration becomes deliverance for the glory of our Lord. Eric’s story, including the testimony of God’s
love that foiled this hijack, were made into a training video. This training video has since been seen by every Delta pilot for a few years running. It has also been seen by countless other pilots at Northwest,
Continental, United and other national airlines. Flight Attendant training sessions across the
nation have also seen this training video.
Eric’s prayer was answered by God in a magnificent and remarkable
way.
Considering all this, it seems appropriate to include a
couple of familiar Bible verses:
Rom 12:12 “Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
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Eph:
3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do
far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power
that works within us, |
|
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to Him be the glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” |
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Isa. 55: 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
says the LORD.”
May this
story of the mighty power of God’s love and light encourage your heart
today!
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