After one man miraculously survived the Air India plane crash, an expert has weighed in on how it might have happened.
The only survivor of the horrific crash was Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national who had been seated in 11A aboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The jet had taken off from Ahmedabad and was bound for London Gatwick when it slammed into a building and burst into flames.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Ramesh told India’s national broadcaster: “I don’t believe how I survived. For some time I thought I was also going to die.
“But when I opened my eyes, I realised I was alive and I tried to unbuckle myself from the seat and escape from where I could. It was in front of my eyes that the air hostess and others died.
“The side of the plane I was in landed on the ground, and I could see that there was space outside the aircraft, so when my door broke I tried to escape through it and I did.”
Aviation expert Guy Leitch explained what made that specific seat so unique — and life-saving.
“My take on it is, the seat 11A was thrown clear of the wreckage as it actually broke up," he told GB News.
“I think that’s the only way he survived the fireball. He had to have been away from it. That’s probably how he picked up his facial and chest injuries. The Boeing 787 had a different breakup structure in the way it actually broke up when it hit this building.”
Ramesh’s seat was also right next to an emergency exit, which likely played a vital role in his escape. Reports say he jumped out of that exit once the door broke open.
He added that the opposite side of the plane was blocked by a building wall — making any escape from that side impossible.
Ramesh recounted the horrifying crash in more detail to local media: “Thirty seconds after takeoff, there was a loud noise, and then we crashed. It all happened so fast. When I stood up, there were bodies everywhere. I just ran.
“I don’t even know how I got out of the plane.”
After someone grabbed him and placed him into an ambulance, Ramesh was treated at the hospital for impact injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet.
“He was disorientated, with multiple injuries all over his body. But he seems to be out of danger,” said Dr Dhaval Gameti, who treated him.
The flight was carrying 242 people: 169 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian. It crashed less than a minute after takeoff, with the final signal captured at just 625 feet.
The pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, issued a mayday moments before impact. The jet smashed into a hostel housing trainee doctors.