logo
Former pilot's theory on how sole survivor of Air India crash escaped unscathed

Former pilot's theory on how sole survivor of Air India crash escaped unscathed

7NEWS14-06-2025
The sole survivor of the Air India plane tragedy might have made it out of the plane wreckage relatively unscathed because he was seated by an emergency exit, a former Qantas pilot has claimed.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was in seat 11A, was the sole survivor of Thursday's Air India crash, which killed at least 290 people, including all the other passengers onboard the plane.
The ill-fated flight was travelling from Ahmedabad in western India to London's Gatwick Airport, before it crashed just moments after take-off, in one of the worst aviation tragedies in the last decade.
Indian authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.
Ramesh, who is a British national, walked away remarkably unscathed from the doomed flight.
Former Qantas pilot David Oliver appeared on Weekend Sunrise on Saturday, where he was questioned about the crash.
'Sitting above the wing, which contains a lot of fuel. It's remarkable he was able to walk away unscathed,' Oliver told hosts Chris Reason and Monique Wright.
'How it was that he managed to get out and people around him were unable to only compounds the luck that he had to come away almost uninjured.'
It has been reported Ramesh was in row five, just behind business class, next to an emergency exit.
On Friday, Ramesh told reporters he was able to push open the emergency exit door before the plane exploded.
'He was very, very lucky to be seated there,' Oliver said.
'He was lucky that he just had that fleeting seconds to escape the aircraft before it burst into that fireball.'
Safety tips for passengers
Oliver was questioned on how to increase your chances of survival on a plane.
'The obvious thing is to listen to the safety instructions,' he said. 'Always wear your seatbelt and have it reasonably, firmly tightened in-flight.'
'I think you've got to wear sensible clothing, bare skin going down an escape slide will give you burns. Maybe not as much as Lycra, so just be sensible about what you're wearing.
'No high-heeled shoes for the ladies. You don't want to puncture an escape slide if you're going out.
'But the important thing, listen to the safety instructions and always wear your seatbelt.'
Air India's black box could provide answers
Investigators have recovered equipment from this week's tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad, India, which could shed light on the final moments on the flight deck.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, which were recovered from on top of the medical college hostel building where the plane crashed, could put to rest some of the speculation into the investigation that killed 241 people aboard the aircraft, according to aviation industry experts.
The flight data recorder was recovered from the rear end of the plane.
The question will be whether the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators, India, or another country will ingest the black boxes' data, according to Peter Goelz, former managing director of the NTSB and a CNN aviation analyst.
'It's quite dramatic,' Goelz told CNN.
'It looked to me like the plane was trying to land at the end. It was flaring, but we just won't know until we get the boxes back.'
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India is in possession of the recorders and other potential pieces of evidence for the investigation.
The data recorders are expected to give some insight into what happened during the flight's final moments, when pilots were making critical decisions.
Less than a minute after take-off, staff on the plane gave a mayday call to air traffic control, Indian civil aviation authorities said.
The deadly crash has drawn even more global attention to air safety and spurred on public anxieties about flying.
There have already been several aviation tragedies and incidents this year — including January's midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet — that have prompted calls to increase safety measures.
- with CNN
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Travel chaos in Bali as travellers forced to wait days for flights after volcano erupts
Travel chaos in Bali as travellers forced to wait days for flights after volcano erupts

7NEWS

time4 hours ago

  • 7NEWS

Travel chaos in Bali as travellers forced to wait days for flights after volcano erupts

Some travellers are being warned it could be days until new flights are available after the eruption of a volcano at a holiday island in Indonesia forced the cancellation of dozens of flights. Hundreds of Australian travellers have been left in the lurch after the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki near Bali caused an 18-kilometre volcanic ash column on Monday, prompting the cancellation of flights in and out of the tourist hotspot. Jetstar, Virgin and AirAsia have cancelled all their flights, with limited flights out of the country still operating through Qantas and Garuda. Volcanic ash has a significant risk of causing aeroplane engine damage, and has the potential to cause the engine to stall or fail, with the duration of ash's impact dependent on the eruption's size and the prevailing winds. Frustrated travellers at Denpasar Airport have been forced to find alternative accommodation and are unsure of when they'll be able to return to Australia. Some travellers have been told it could be days until replacement flights are sent. 'Cancelled for tonight, meant to go to Rockhampton, Australia, but now I've got to wait two days,' one passenger told Sunrise. 'So the next flight is two days' time.' Other travellers saw the lighter side of being stuck on a holiday island. 'I'm very upset, we didn't realise we would have another day on the beach,' one woman said. 'Very, very sad, yeah, but hopefully we can get home.' Qantas said it was monitoring the situation closely and that 'safety is always our top priority'. 'We will contact customers directly if their flight is disrupted,' a spokesperson told in a statement. Some Virgin services have also been cancelled. Smart traveller is warning passengers of cancelled flights. 'If your flight is affected, contact your airline and insurance provider for alternative travel and accommodation arrangements.' Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, located at the southeastern part of the island of Flores, last erupted on June 17. The mountain also erupted in November, killing nine people and injuring dozens. There have been no reported injuries or casualties from Monday's eruption.

Australian airlines cancel flights again after latest volcanic eruption
Australian airlines cancel flights again after latest volcanic eruption

Sydney Morning Herald

time20 hours ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Australian airlines cancel flights again after latest volcanic eruption

Several Australian airlines have cancelled flights between Bali and Australia on Monday afternoon after a volcano erupted and ejected a cloud of ash 18 kilometres into the sky. Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Qantas have had to alter their services to and from the popular holiday destination for the second time in a month after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki's eruption in June also caused cancellations and delays. On Monday, Indonesia's Geology Agency published a statement saying it had recorded the volcano unleashing searing gas clouds during the eruption. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Virgin Australia cancelled three return services and would monitor ash cloud movement over the next day to determine whether flights on Tuesday would operate, though some delays were possible. A spokesperson for the airline said guests were encouraged to closely monitor their flight statuses for cancellations. Loading 'Some Virgin Australia Bali services have been cancelled following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi earlier today. The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority and our team of expert meteorologists are closely monitoring the situation and ash cloud activity.' Jetstar also confirmed it has cancelled a number of flights due to the volcanic ash. Two Qantas services were also delayed between Melbourne, Sydney and Bali. A spokesperson for the Qantas group said 'our meteorologists and operations teams are closely monitoring the movement of volcanic ash from the latest eruption of Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia. Safety is always our top priority and we will contact customers directly if their flight is disrupted.'

Australian airlines cancel flights again after latest volcanic eruption
Australian airlines cancel flights again after latest volcanic eruption

The Age

time20 hours ago

  • The Age

Australian airlines cancel flights again after latest volcanic eruption

Several Australian airlines have cancelled flights between Bali and Australia on Monday afternoon after a volcano erupted and ejected a cloud of ash 18 kilometres into the sky. Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Qantas have had to alter their services to and from the popular holiday destination for the second time in a month after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki's eruption in June also caused cancellations and delays. On Monday, Indonesia's Geology Agency published a statement saying it had recorded the volcano unleashing searing gas clouds during the eruption. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Virgin Australia cancelled three return services and would monitor ash cloud movement over the next day to determine whether flights on Tuesday would operate, though some delays were possible. A spokesperson for the airline said guests were encouraged to closely monitor their flight statuses for cancellations. Loading 'Some Virgin Australia Bali services have been cancelled following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi earlier today. The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority and our team of expert meteorologists are closely monitoring the situation and ash cloud activity.' Jetstar also confirmed it has cancelled a number of flights due to the volcanic ash. Two Qantas services were also delayed between Melbourne, Sydney and Bali. A spokesperson for the Qantas group said 'our meteorologists and operations teams are closely monitoring the movement of volcanic ash from the latest eruption of Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia. Safety is always our top priority and we will contact customers directly if their flight is disrupted.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store