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Real Answers™
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Copyright: ©2007 Ken Lottis
675 words

WHICH WAY ARE YOU HEADED?

By: Ken Lottis

Rose Bowl. January 1, 1929.

California Golden Bears vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The game was a scoreless tie in the second quarter when a Tech running back fumbled on his own 36 yard line. A mad scramble ensued. A California player, Roy Riegels, grabbed the ball and headed for the goal line. Then, only 30 yards from a touchdown, he spun around to get away from a tackler.

He escaped the tackler, but was now running in the wrong direction. A teammate eventually caught Reigels. He shook free, but before he could recover from his mistake, a wave of Tech players tackled him on the 1 yard line. He had run nearly 70 yards in the wrong direction.

Moments later when Cal tried to punt out of their own end zone, the kick was blocked for a safety, which turned out to be the difference in the game which Georgia won, 8-7.

“Wrong Way” Reigels is a part of Rose Bowl history. But his mistake was nothing when compared to what happened to the captain and first officer on a Brazilian Boeing 737 in September of 1989. Varig Airlines flight 254 was at the Maraba Airport, preparing for a 48 minute flight to Belém.

Passengers later reported that the pilots had a radio on the flight deck tuned to an important soccer game being played in Rio de Janeiro. Perhaps distracted by the game, the captain dialed the numbers 270 into the auto pilot overlooking the fact that on the flight plan the correct heading should have been 027, the magnetic compass heading from Maraba to Belém. Minutes later, at 5:35 PM, flight 254 took off and climbed to an altitude of 29,000 feet. Instead of heading northeast toward Belém, flight 254 turned west and headed straight into the setting sun, and the Amazon forest.

Anyone with a passing grade in Brazilian geography should have realized that you do not head west to get from Maraba to Belém. The first indication that something was wrong occurred midway through the flight when the captain tried to communicate with Belém and the controllers could not hear him.

Minutes later, based on the duration of his flight, the captain knew he should have visual contact with the city of Belém. Frustrated, he executed a 180 degree turn, flying back on a magnetic heading of 090, still not recognizing the absurdity of his due west/due east course.

At 7:39 PM, now 68 minutes overdue, the first officer suddenly identified the problem and started to explain their mistake to the captain, only to be greeted with a surprising gesture. The captain pointed to the location of the microphone for the cockpit voice recorder and then put his finger to his lips, signaling his co-pilot to stop talking.

But by now they were hopelessly lost. Still refusing to admit their error and ask for help they began counting the minutes until they would run out of fuel.

About an hour later, out of fuel, the captain made a remarkable forced landing in total darkness in a dense tropical forest, over 700 miles to the southwest of their destination. All six of the crew survived the crash. Thirteen of the forty-eight passengers were killed on impact or died of injuries.

In his Gospel, Luke summarized the purpose of Jesus’ ministry with this simple statement: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) The problem Jesus faced then and the problem we face today is identical to the problem that night on the flight deck of flight 254. People who are lost are very reluctant to admit that they are lost.

As you contemplate the course of your life at this holiday season, consider your need to get a fix on where you are. Get some time with a pastor, a priest, or a trusted friend who can serve as a spiritual mentor. Then take a deep breath, and say those difficult words, “I am lost. I need some help.”

"Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com

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