Transportation-wise, the year started out sadly, and uncomprehendingly, with the deadly disaster at sea when the Italian cruise ship Costa Concrodia struck a reef and capsized off the coast of the island of Giglio, killing at least 32.
Authorities say the ship’s captain intentionally, and now notoriously, strayed from the authorized course, causing the crash. Even more notoriously, the captain, Francesco Schettino, is charged with abandoning ship as chaos reigned onboard, with passengers given no instructions, or worse, told incorrectly to return to their cabins.
The captain, who made it ashore in a lifeboat he claims to have fallen into, begged in a phone call with a Coast Guard officer not to be sent back to the ship to look for survivors, according to news reports, including a new article in Vanity Fair, which details the decisions that led to the crash, and left passengers to fend for themselves in nightmarish confusion.
Journalist Bryan Burrough, MSNBC reports, also writes of the unsung heroes who helped rescue passengers and crew. Thank goodness. Schettino’s widely reported cowardly actions need balancing out with reports of bravery and concern for others. As Herald opinion columnist Larry Simoneaux noted in January, Schettino is the anti-Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger — the hero pilot who, in January 2009, safely landed his powerless U.S. Airways jet plane in the Hudson River and remained onboard until every passenger was safely out.
Such stories are welcome reminders that people do act selflessly, and heroically, whether as part of their job, or after being thrust into an emergency.
This week, 80-year-old Helen Collins earned her “Sully” stripes of honor for grace and strength when thrown into a “do or die” situation after her husband, John, collapsed while piloting their small Cessna from Florida to Wisconsin. With little flying experience, she took the controls of the twin-engine plane. She called 911 to make sure an ambulance was ready to take her husband to the hospital, just in case, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Up there, all alone, her first thought was about how to help her husband. Soon after, however, Collins knew he was dead. Still, she remained calm, working up the courage, with encouragement from pilots on the ground, and one in the sky, to attempt the landing.
By the time Collins touched down, one engine had run out of gas and the other was close to empty and sputtering, the Tribune reported. She broke a rib and a vertebrae, but was otherwise OK.
A big Sully salute to Helen Collins, and those who helped her, for their inspiring actions.
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