Captain Mafella Says Anthonius Gunawan Agung Was His Guardian Angel in the Indonesian Quake

Indonesia is saluting an Air Traffic Controller by the name of Anthonius Gunawan Agung who ensured that he performed his duty till the last, before attempting to save his own life, following the Indonesian earthquake.

On September 28, the Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport control tower at Palu began to shake when the 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the airport. Most of the employees began evacuating the tower to save their lives after the earthquake struck, however, one employee by the name of Anthonius Gunawan Agung remained in the tower. He stayed back to ensure that the last plane with whom he was communicating with, had a safe take off, ignoring his own safety. The flight was Batik 6231 that carried 140 precious lives.

On the request of Captain Mafella, the pilot of Batik 6231, the plane was allowed to take off three minutes ahead of its schedule. Anthonius Gunawan Agung followed standard procedures and granted the pilot the permission to take off ahead of its schedule.

When the earthquake struck the airport, Anthonius Gunawan Agung believed that the tower would collapse and thus to save his life he jumped from the fourth-floor window. He was rushed to the hospital with internal injuries and a broken leg. Unfortunately, before he could be taken to another hospital for specialty care in a helicopter, he passed away. The brave employee was just one month short of completing his 22nd birthday.

"We felt a deep heartbreak, may God give Anthonius the best place beside him, along with other victims of Donggala earthquake," Yohanes Sirait, spokesman for AirNav Indonesia, the agency that oversees aircraft navigation, said in a statement.

Captain Mafella gives a personal recount

The pilot of the Batik 6231, Captain Icoze Mafella posted an image of Anthonius Gunawan Agung on Instagram alongside these words “Thank you for keeping me and guarding me till I'm safely airborne.” As per online circulating reports, Captain Mafella gave a personal recount of a feeling of urgency which he experienced before taking off from Palu airport.

Captain Mafella disclosed that the winds were unusually high when his plane was about to arrive at Palu airport. This airport is squeezed between two mountains and pilots usually refer to such airports as “valleys of death.” Mafella, was feeling restless and being a Christian he began to recite the 23rd Psalm from the Bible, “I may walk through valleys as dark as death but I won’t be afraid. You are with me and your shepherd’s rod makes me feel safe.” After the plane arrived at Palu, he urged the crew to take a shorter 20-minute break before its departure to Jakarta.

He broke some standard flight procedures when he took over some of the co-pilot’s responsibilities as a voice was coercing him to leave fast. After Anthonius gave their flight the permission to leave ahead of its schedule, Captain Mafella sped away on the runway.  As the plane gained momentum, both the pilots could feel the airplane swaying from the left to right. “If I had taken off three minutes later, I would not have been able to save the 140 passengers,” he said. Later, when he tried to communicate with the ATC tower there was no response. Mafella eventually came to know that Palu had experienced an earthquake.

Captain Mafella considers Anthonius Gunawan Agung to be his guardian angel. Mafella personally believes that it is important to be calm and listen to your inner voice directed by God while facing deadly calamities. Amidst the fearful and panicky atmosphere in Indonesia, the actions, deeds and words of these heroes are being fondly remembered.