Costa Concordia Captain's Excuse: 'I Tripped'

Having had a long weekend to mull it over, one might think the captain of the Costa Concordia would be able to come up with a better alibi.

However, Captain Francesco Schettino, who is being investigated for charges including manslaughter after the Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Italy on Friday, has offered a rather unconvincing explanation of just how he allegedly ended up leaving his ship.

In a recently released conversation between Schettino and the Italian coastguard, the captain can be heard waffling as the coastguard barks orders to return to the ship to oversee its evacuation, claiming that the vessel was tipping dangerously and that it was too dark. Now, the captain has explained at a hearing just how he ended up ditching the Costa Concordia for the safety of a lifeboat in the first place:

"Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70° angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats," Schettino said, according to The Guardian. "That's how I found myself in the lifeboat."

Convenient landing or convenient excuse?

The Telegraph reports that during a three-hour interrogation, the captain admitted steering the ship off-course to salute a colleague:

"It’s true that the salute was for Commodore Mario Palombo, with whom I was on the telephone," Schettino reportedly said.

Comments

[Concordia 2012]

02:56 PM on 01/22/2012

I know everyone compares this to the Titanic, but it can also be compared to the Andrea Doria accident in the 1950's.....Andrea Doria was also an Italian liner as well BUT.....Captain Calamai her commander REMAINED ONBOARD SHIP well after the last passengers were off the ship. He was willing to stay and go down with the ship until his officers told him they would join him if he didnt get off the ship....

Captain Schettino - "trips into a lifeboat and would not return to his ship" I think if Captain Calamai were still alive today and saw what Schettino did and how he acted...Captain Calamai would, im sure, drag Schettino's butt back to that ship or took control himself.....

[1frank]

12:17 AM on 01/24/2012

no similarity with the Andrea Doria which cilided with a cargo ship in the thick fog , they still had limited radar at the time. As far as the Ttanic it is now well know that it was the very first boat for which the stearing was not longer counter clockwize and it is very well know the skipper may have thought he was pulling away from the iceberg when actually ran staright in it.

[evecaren]

09:48 AM on 01/22/2012

What a disgusting excuse for a human being. How stupid does he think other people are.
Saying he tripped into a life boat, that's how he got in the life boat. This man is a disgrace
and an idiot. Imagine. Steering the cruise ship Costa Concordia off course "so he could
salute a colleague." and endangering the lives of his 4,000 plus passengers. It's not to be
believed. Then Schettino stated that he ended up on rocks that "weren't supposed to be there."
I hope he ends up in jail, spends several years there and after this, no one will ever hire him
to be a captain of a ship again. What a coward and a selfish, narcasistic piece of work.

[msconnie1399]

03:48 PM on 01/20/2012

how convient...I bet his blond bomb shell fell in the same boat and got the same taxi cab to safety....I'm a cruiser and you better believe I want to personally let the Captain know I trust he will go down with the ship if it goes down...

[bseely1111]

05:02 PM on 01/20/2012

And did you notice - he has his windbreaker on AND the 2nd and 3rd in command were also supposedly in the same life boat? All tripping, I guess - on something.

[incink]

03:34 PM on 01/20/2012

I wish I could trip into a super model.

[travelnomad]

01:48 PM on 01/20/2012

Trust me, this man will NEVER see the inside of a jail. Yes, he was arrested, but he was out of that courtroom and hearing and on his way home in record time..

At stake, is the reputation of the largest cruise line in the world, Carnival, who has lawyers and does not want their image tarnished, plus Costa Cruise lines, the largest Italian cruise line

They know that this will go away in the news, and months from now, if there ever is a trial for this Captain, which I doubt, it will not be a big news item. He will get a fine and a slap on the wrist.

He will never be a Captain for Costa again, but probably will Captain something in the future, unless they take his certificate away, but probably will not happen.

His deviation of this ship close to an island caused deaths, severe trauma for the passengers, and cost his company and insurers over half a billion dollars.

But it is an incident that occurred at sea, hard to prove it is a crime, and unlike a poor man here, who will get prison for robbing a store of $100, he will probably get a harsh slap on the wrist and that is it.

[tburickbass]

01:43 PM on 01/20/2012

Captain Stubbing of the Love Boat... Would have NEVER tripped into a life boat... He may have thrown Gopher overboard, or Vicki into a lifeboat, but Stubbing himself would have gone down with the ship.... He would have had Issac pouring him drinks as he went down.. but that his another story.

[Moosetycoon]

12:21 PM on 01/20/2012

The accident was caused by only 1 man at a cost of millions and peoples lives. How can the Captain live with himself from his actions on that day?

[hegunshop]

12:06 PM on 01/20/2012

well I guess he can kiss another gig goodby. Amazing to see such a large ship that close to the rocks anyway. I would not have taken a sailboat that close to those rocks.

[ACarole]

11:48 AM on 01/20/2012

Well, another good lesson about using the phone when driving. Just saying. Beware cell phone users ... driving and talking on the phone is a dangerous thing.

[annbusga]

11:41 AM on 01/20/2012

I heard "schettino" is now a verb meaning "to do something wreckless which endangers the lives of thousands."

[curious-yellow]

11:27 AM on 01/20/2012

A pity the others missing people DID'NT trip and FALL in the lifeboats. He is THE COWARD of Costa Concordia, a captain with a LITTLE DINGHY!!!

[annbusga]

10:33 AM on 01/20/2012

Certainly, you jest. He shouldn't be the captain of any ship because he ADMITTEDLY veered off course to salute the captain of another ship, completely disregarding nautical charts that all show the reef he grounded on. He had the lives of thousands in his hands, yet he ordered dinner after a blackout when he was off course. He was in the company of a young woman not on the ship's manifest. He lied (by omission) when questioned by the coast guard when there might have been plenty of time to save everyone onboard. Then, to top it all off, he abandoned ship before women and children, "tripping" into a lifeboat!

[Ziggy111]

11:45 AM on 01/20/2012

Kid you not! here's the whole story....http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087126/Costa-Concordia-captain-Francesco-Schettino-Facebook-anger-Italys-hated-man.html

Also in another article look under Costa Concordia Francesco Schettino - you'll find further that the woman was HIS official guest and that investigators are reviewing allegations he took cash from the safe.

[Ziggy111]

03:02 AM on 01/20/2012

Hey readers, want to know his latest allegations? He is being investigated for robbing the ships's safe! google his name and you'll find it........no wonder he tripped and fell into the boat, he was in a hurry to get in the taxi with the goods! Wow.

[bobnky]

11:04 PM on 01/19/2012

Tripping to fall into a lifeboat must be the 'Lord Jim' excuse?

[TheNewShadeofBlue]

10:58 PM on 01/19/2012

It is so annoying how we openly choose to put ourselves in potential danger.
You pick your poison: drunk driving, smoking, gun play, driving at high speeds, talking on a cell phone while driving, texting while driving, etc..
It is downright criminal when we do it and others die because of our behavior.