A missionary pilot on a Samaritan’s Purse humanitarian aid mission in South Sudan has recounted the moment he shared the Gospel with a gunman hijacking his plane.

Jim Streit was delivering medicines to a mobile medical unit in Maiwut, a remote town in northeastern South Sudan, where humanitarian groups often rely on small aircraft because roads are limited or difficult to reach.

The pilot with Africa Inland Mission who has decades of aviation experience and frequently flies missions for Samaritan’s Purse, said he and staff member Ben had about 40 minutes remaining in the flight when they suddenly heard a shout from the back of the plane.

A masked man emerged waving a gun and demanded to be flown to neighbouring Chad on the opposite side of South Sudan which meant there wasn’t  enough fuel to reach a runway there.

HIJACKER POINTS GUN AT PILOT’S FACE

The hijacker became extremely agitated in the cockpit, threatening to kill all three on board.

Mr. Streit described the moment to the podcast: On the Ground with Samaritan’s Purse:

“He lifts up a gun, shows me the magazine is full of 13 rounds of nine millimetre ammunition, puts it into the gun, cocks the gun, ratchets a round into the chamber with the hammer back, his finger on the trigger and holds the gun up and points it right at my face.”

The pilot began flying the plane slowly and made wide looping turns in the air to buy time while he considered how to bring the aircraft down safely before it ran out of fuel.

His plan was to reach a nearby airport in South Sudan, where he could land and allow security forces to intervene.

“GOD NEEDED TO BE BROUGHT INTO THIS MID-AIR COCKPIT DRAMA”

At the same time, Jim Streit “felt that God needed to be brought into the situation.” 

He told podcast host Kristy Graham:

“I’m reminded from Scripture that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, and we’re told that the Holy Spirit will be given to us to bring things to remembrance.”

“And I believe that’s what God was doing for me, bringing things to remembrance that God had already told me in His Word.”

“And one of those things is, remember it’s not just flesh and blood.”

“So, I thought there’s something spiritual going on and the only thing I can do to battle the spiritual is to bring Jesus’s Name into this.”

PILOT SHARES JOHN 3:16, HIJACKER BURSTS INTO TEARS

The pilot then asked the hijacker where his family was.

He responded that they were all dead.

Taking off his mask, the gunman began to cry and Mr. Streit shared John 3:16 with him.

He: told the hijacker that Christ had died for his sins and that those who believe in Him could spend eternity in Heaven.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO THE HIJACKING

While this mid-air drama was unfolding, Samaritan’s Purse staff across Africa and the United States were working out how to respond 

The Christian Post reports Matt Olson, director of Mission Aviation Services Africa at Samaritan’s Purse, received a call in the middle of the night  informing him of the hijack.

Mr. Olson said the situation struck him personally because Jim Streit had been a friend and mentor for more than 30 years.

“We were hanging on by our fingernails that this was going to resolve well and praying prayers that I’ve never prayed that hard and that intensely in my life,” he revealed.

HOW THE CRISIS WAS AVERTED

Communication from the cockpit was limited because the pilot wanted to avoid drawing the hijacker’s attention.

After several minutes of prayer in the cockpit, Mr. Streit told the man that he would be protected if he allowed the plane to land.

“At that point, the hijacker picked up the gun and he motioned down, and he said, ‘Go ahead and go down,’” the pilot explained.

The aircraft landed safely in Wau where South Sudan’s National Security Service took the hijacker into custody.

PRAYERS WITH THE HIJACKER AFTER HIS ARREST

Authorities identified the suspect as Yasir Mohammed Yusuf, a resident of an oil-rich territory disputed between South Sudan and Sudan.

Officials said he had boarded the aircraft before take-off, but his motive remained unclear.

Later that evening, Jim Streit said he and Ben were able to speak with the hijacker after soldiers had secured him.

“Ben said: ‘Jim, can we pray with him?’ So, I said, ‘Sure’“

“We sat down next to him with the soldiers around us, and Ben prayed a wonderful prayer for salvation for this guy.”

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