A British father narrowly avoided boarding the ill-fated Air India flight -- only to later discover a chilling coincidence involving the seat he was rebooked in.
Flight AI171 - bound for London Gatwick - took off from Ahmedabad in India on June 12, but tragically plummeted to the ground within seconds.
The aircraft exploded into a fireball after crashing into a residential area, killing 241 people onboard and at least 38 on the ground. The total death toll currently stands at 279, according to the Daily Mail.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who had been sitting in seat 11A, was the only passenger to miraculously survive the crash. Though his brother Ajay Kumar, seated across the aisle in 11J, perished in the tragedy.
Investigators from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) have since recovered both of the jet’s black boxes. The AAIB is leading the probe, with help from experts in the US and UK, as families of the victims and the general public await answers.
However, one man who was originally booked on Flight AI171 was 31-year-old Owen Jackson, who has shared how he narrowly avoided the disaster.
The father - from Saffron Walden, Essex - had been wrapping up a work trip in India when he had to choose between flying home on Thursday or Saturday. His colleagues advised him to stick around until Saturday, as the job was running slightly over schedule.
That decision may have saved his life.
However, what is perhaps even more chilling is the fact that, for Saturday’s rescheduled flight, Owen had been assigned seat 11A – the very seat occupied by the sole survivor of Flight 171, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route to London’s Gatwick Airport when it issued a mayday signal shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. Moments later, the plane crashed into a student dining hall at B J Medical College in Ahmedabad while students were having lunch.
Miraculously, one man, Ramesh, walked away from the wreckage with injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet.
Owen told The Sun: “It’s a shock. I’m more grateful than anything else, it’s such a weird coincidence. You hear about these things, but when it’s the actual plane you were meant to be on two days later, it really hits you.”
Back home, Owen’s wife Phillipa, 30, had no idea which flight he was on. When the crash made headlines, she spent two agonizing hours fearing the worst.
“It was surreal,” she said. “Like a nightmare you’re trying to wake up from, but can’t.”
Owen admitted he was completely unaware of the tragedy until hours later. “I hadn’t checked my phone. I was in meetings the whole time the news was breaking,” he said.
As previously reported, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has also revealed that the airline - along with its parent company Tata Sons - will provide over ₹1.25 crore (approximately £106,000 or $133,000) to the families of each deceased passenger and the sole survivor.