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'The Oatmeal' Remembers 'Star Trek' Creator's Heroic Plane Crash Rescue

An excerpt from the comic "It's going to be okay" in The Oatmeal.
Courtesy of Matthew Inman
An excerpt from the comic "It's going to be okay" in The Oatmeal.

Before the attacks on Paris on Friday, Matthew Inman was thinking a lot about the unpredictability of life.

A few days earlier he had posted his latest comic to his popular website, "The Oatmeal."

The cartoonist apologized to his fans because this comic strip is not like his usual work. It's not funny.

He says he didn't leave his house much over the five days it took him to draw and write the comic titled "It's going to be okay."

Since last week, it has been viewed 30 million times. Inman was inspired to write it after hearing a real-life story that took his breath away.

On June 18, 1947, a Pan Am flight crashed on its way to New York from Calcutta, killing 14 people instantly. The co-pilot survived and helped organize a heroic rescue mission that brought 22 survivors home.

That co-pilot was Gene Roddenberry, who went on to create Star Trek.

Use the audio link above to hear a shortened version of the comic.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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