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MAKASSAR, Indonesia – The pilot was preparing to take off on that remarkably clear, windy Friday evening. He had a bad feeling.

Ricosetta Mafella, the 44-year-old pilot of Batik Airlines flight 6231, told his first officer who had stopped to take photos of the scenic Palu beachfront to hurry back on the aircraft.

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“I told them to do everything quick, I said let’s go,” said Mafella in an interview with The Washington Post. The door closed, and he started the plane moving at 5:52 p.m. local time, three minutes before the scheduled departure time for a flight that’s usually a bit late.

“Batik 6231 runway 33 clear for take off,” came the calm voice of the air traffic controller, 21-year old Anthonius Gunawan Agung, as Mafella taxied off the runway minutes ahead of schedule. The pilot did not realize that just as his wheels lifted just inches into the air, severe tremors from a 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook the ground causing massive cracks in the runway he had just departed and prompting the controller to jump from the tower as its roof was caving in.