Want to sit in ‘miracle' seat 11A? It will cost you
Although he didn't know it at the time, when Vishwash Kumar Ramesh walked away from the blazing wreck of Air India flight 171 on June 12, 2025, he was probably the luckiest person on the planet that day.
The flight he was on had just taken off from Ahmedabad in India's western state of Gujarat, yet after just a few seconds the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was in difficulty, losing power and failing to gain altitude. Less than 40 seconds after its wheels left the ground it crashed into the hostel block of a medical college.
Upon impact the fuel tanks ruptured, spilling more than 100 tonnes of highly inflammable fuel from tanks which had been topped up for the long flight to the UK's Gatwick Airport. Instantly the aircraft became a flaming inferno. There was almost no chance that any of the 242 passengers and crew would escape, but miraculously, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived and walked free, burned and dazed but alive.
How did Ramesh survive?
In Ramesh's own words, part of an exclusive interview with NDTV, 'the side where I was seated fell into the ground floor of the building. There was some space. When the door broke, I saw that space and I just jumped out. The door must've broken on impact. There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don't know how. I don't know how I came out of it alive. For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive, and I opened my seat belt and got out of there.'
Ramesh was sitting in seat 11A, and SeatMaps shows that as a bulkhead seat on the port side of the aircraft. There's an emergency exit door right next to that seat, and that gave him an escape route. There's also plenty of empty space in front of that seat, and despite the force of the impact, there were no seats immediately in front that would have been likely to cause injuries in more crowded parts of the cabin.
Turning to aeroLOPA, another website with diagrammatic displays of aircraft layouts, 11A is located three rows forward of the wings. The wingbox, where the wings attach to the fuselage, is a particularly robust section of the aircraft. It needs to be since it bears the weight of the wings, and this might have contributed to Ramesh's survival.
Among other factors that helped Ramesh, the 40-year-old looks strong, and he was travelling alone. Although a brother was on the same flight, they weren't sitting together. That meant he wasn't inclined to look for family or friends sitting alongside. When the opportunity to escape presented itself, he moved fast.
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Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Air India crash survivor seat 11A: Is it really safer, worth the added cost?
Although he didn't know it at the time, when Vishwash Kumar Ramesh walked away from the blazing wreck of Air India flight 171 on June 12, 2025, he was probably the luckiest person on the planet that day. The flight he was on had just taken off from Ahmedabad in India's western state of Gujarat, yet after just a few seconds the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was in difficulty, losing power and failing to gain altitude. Less than 40 seconds after its wheels left the ground it crashed into the hostel block of a medical college. Upon impact the fuel tanks ruptured, spilling more than 100 tonnes of highly inflammable fuel from tanks which had been topped up for the long flight to the UK's Gatwick Airport. Instantly the aircraft became a flaming inferno. There was almost no chance that any of the 242 passengers and crew would escape, but miraculously, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived and walked free, burned and dazed but alive. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the sole survivor of the Air India crash. Credit: Siddharaj Solanki/Bloomberg How did Ramesh survive? In Ramesh's own words, part of an exclusive interview with NDTV, 'the side where I was seated fell into the ground floor of the building. There was some space. When the door broke, I saw that space and I just jumped out. The door must've broken on impact. There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don't know how. I don't know how I came out of it alive. For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive, and I opened my seat belt and got out of there.' Ramesh was sitting in seat 11A, and SeatMaps shows that as a bulkhead seat on the port side of the aircraft. There's an emergency exit door right next to that seat, and that gave him an escape route. There's also plenty of empty space in front of that seat, and despite the force of the impact, there were no seats immediately in front that would have been likely to cause injuries in more crowded parts of the cabin. Turning to aeroLOPA, another website with diagrammatic displays of aircraft layouts, 11A is located three rows forward of the wings. The wingbox, where the wings attach to the fuselage, is a particularly robust section of the aircraft. It needs to be since it bears the weight of the wings, and this might have contributed to Ramesh's survival. Among other factors that helped Ramesh, the 40-year-old looks strong, and he was travelling alone. Although a brother was on the same flight, they weren't sitting together. That meant he wasn't inclined to look for family or friends sitting alongside. When the opportunity to escape presented itself, he moved fast.
The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
Want to sit in ‘miracle' seat 11A? It will cost you
Although he didn't know it at the time, when Vishwash Kumar Ramesh walked away from the blazing wreck of Air India flight 171 on June 12, 2025, he was probably the luckiest person on the planet that day. The flight he was on had just taken off from Ahmedabad in India's western state of Gujarat, yet after just a few seconds the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was in difficulty, losing power and failing to gain altitude. Less than 40 seconds after its wheels left the ground it crashed into the hostel block of a medical college. Upon impact the fuel tanks ruptured, spilling more than 100 tonnes of highly inflammable fuel from tanks which had been topped up for the long flight to the UK's Gatwick Airport. Instantly the aircraft became a flaming inferno. There was almost no chance that any of the 242 passengers and crew would escape, but miraculously, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived and walked free, burned and dazed but alive. How did Ramesh survive? In Ramesh's own words, part of an exclusive interview with NDTV, 'the side where I was seated fell into the ground floor of the building. There was some space. When the door broke, I saw that space and I just jumped out. The door must've broken on impact. There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don't know how. I don't know how I came out of it alive. For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive, and I opened my seat belt and got out of there.' Ramesh was sitting in seat 11A, and SeatMaps shows that as a bulkhead seat on the port side of the aircraft. There's an emergency exit door right next to that seat, and that gave him an escape route. There's also plenty of empty space in front of that seat, and despite the force of the impact, there were no seats immediately in front that would have been likely to cause injuries in more crowded parts of the cabin. Turning to aeroLOPA, another website with diagrammatic displays of aircraft layouts, 11A is located three rows forward of the wings. The wingbox, where the wings attach to the fuselage, is a particularly robust section of the aircraft. It needs to be since it bears the weight of the wings, and this might have contributed to Ramesh's survival. Among other factors that helped Ramesh, the 40-year-old looks strong, and he was travelling alone. Although a brother was on the same flight, they weren't sitting together. That meant he wasn't inclined to look for family or friends sitting alongside. When the opportunity to escape presented itself, he moved fast.
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Want to sit in ‘miracle' seat 11A? It will cost you
Although he didn't know it at the time, when Vishwash Kumar Ramesh walked away from the blazing wreck of Air India flight 171 on June 12, 2025, he was probably the luckiest person on the planet that day. The flight he was on had just taken off from Ahmedabad in India's western state of Gujarat, yet after just a few seconds the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was in difficulty, losing power and failing to gain altitude. Less than 40 seconds after its wheels left the ground it crashed into the hostel block of a medical college. Upon impact the fuel tanks ruptured, spilling more than 100 tonnes of highly inflammable fuel from tanks which had been topped up for the long flight to the UK's Gatwick Airport. Instantly the aircraft became a flaming inferno. There was almost no chance that any of the 242 passengers and crew would escape, but miraculously, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived and walked free, burned and dazed but alive. How did Ramesh survive? In Ramesh's own words, part of an exclusive interview with NDTV, 'the side where I was seated fell into the ground floor of the building. There was some space. When the door broke, I saw that space and I just jumped out. The door must've broken on impact. There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don't know how. I don't know how I came out of it alive. For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive, and I opened my seat belt and got out of there.' Ramesh was sitting in seat 11A, and SeatMaps shows that as a bulkhead seat on the port side of the aircraft. There's an emergency exit door right next to that seat, and that gave him an escape route. There's also plenty of empty space in front of that seat, and despite the force of the impact, there were no seats immediately in front that would have been likely to cause injuries in more crowded parts of the cabin. Turning to aeroLOPA, another website with diagrammatic displays of aircraft layouts, 11A is located three rows forward of the wings. The wingbox, where the wings attach to the fuselage, is a particularly robust section of the aircraft. It needs to be since it bears the weight of the wings, and this might have contributed to Ramesh's survival. Among other factors that helped Ramesh, the 40-year-old looks strong, and he was travelling alone. Although a brother was on the same flight, they weren't sitting together. That meant he wasn't inclined to look for family or friends sitting alongside. When the opportunity to escape presented itself, he moved fast.
