Evidently the Captain Schettino had company as he tripped and fell into a lifeboat:

Mr Schettino told investigating magistrates in Grosseto, on the Italian mainland, that he ended up in the lifeboat by accident.

During three hours of interrogation on Tuesday, he reportedly said: "The passengers were pouring onto the decks, taking the lifeboats by assault. I didn't even have a life jacket because I had given it to one of the passengers. I was trying to get people to get into the boats in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60 to 70 degree angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats. That's how I found myself there."

He said he got stuck in the lifeboat for an hour before it was lowered into the water off the coast of Giglio island.

Also with him was Dimitri Christidis, the Greek second in command of the Concordia and Silvia Coronica, the third officer, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

Maybe Captain Schettino does deserve the benefit of the doubt. I can hardly wait for the film version. Who was it who played Capt. Queg in the Caine Mutiny? Oh, now I remember, Brad David. Is he still around?

Charley Noble