Chance Encounter In Evading Death

Parts of an Air India plane that crashed on Thursday are seen on top of a building in Ahmedabad, India, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

 

"The police found one survivor in seat 11A. He has been in the  hospital and is under treatment." 

"The death toll may increase, as the flight crashed in a residential area."

Ahmedabad Police Commissioner G. S. Malik 

 

"I can't believe myself how I came out of it alive, because for a while I thought I was going to die as well." 

"But when I opened my eyes, I saw that I was alive. So I tried to open my seat belt, and I was able to get out." 

 "After takeoff, after 5-10 seconds, it seemed like the aircraft was stuck."

"When my door broke, I saw there was a bit of space. So I tried to get out and I was able to get out."

"I just walked out."

Viswashkumar Ramesh, sole survivor, Air India crash

 

"Typically in an airplane accident, being in the back of the airplane is better because you sort of have the front of the airplane as a shock absorber to take some of the impact loads."

"Because the tail hit first it would have then caused the whole fuselage to rotate forward and slam into the ground, and that would cause breaking of the fuselage."

"If he said he went through a break, that was what caused that break."

"In some cases you can survive the impact damage, but then the fire can be what actually ends up being the problem."

"Put your seat belt on tight, know where the exits are. And as was shown in this case, getting out quickly is really important. So don't wait and grab your stuff, just … get away as quickly as you can." 

John Hansman, professor of aeronautics and astronautics, MIT 

Viswashkumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of Thursday's Air India crash, meets with Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah at a hospital in Ahmedabad. Indian Ministry of Home Affairs/AP

 Air India Boeing 787-8 commercial passenger jet had just lifted off from Ahmedabad airport, in a city of four million people, in transit to London, with a full passenger load and crew on a routine flight. Barely clearing the airport, the plane's nose failed to lift and instead it appeared almost as though it was landing. And land it did in a sense, but not on an airstrip, but into the side of a building just outside the airport perimeter. As it hit the building, a fireball exploded, and all aboard were lost in the explosion. Except, miraculously, for one passenger, 40-year-old British citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seated in the first economy-class row behind business class, in a window seat.

 

Local video revealed a man wearing a stained white T-shirt walking away from the crash limping, headed toward an ambulance. He had injuries and blood on his face left side, where he would have faced the window. He had with him his folded boarding pass, matching the passenger name, flight and seat assignment in the plane's manifest. Proof was sought simply because it seemed impossible that anyone could walk away from such a catastrophic crash. 

"Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly."

"When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me."

"Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital."

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh 

Reuters

 

 At the hospital he was taken to, medical authorities found he had suffered "impact injuries" to chest, face and feet. He was placed in a general ward bed, the impression being that his injuries were of a relatively minor nature. Somehow, astoundingly, out of all those aboard the plane who perished, this man's life had been spared and the explanation why he survived eludes experts. While he survived, however, there was still a family tragedy in that he was travelling with his older brother Ajay Kumar Ramesh. Seated in a different row, his brother's crash outcome was the same as all other passengers and crew: death.

 

Onboard the plane were 169 Indian citizens, 53 British citizens, several Portuguese and one Canadian passenger destined to arrive at Gatwick Airport in London. Aboard there was a dozen crew members, along with the 230 passengers. Among the passengers were twelve children. None but Ramesh survived. Additionally there were other people on the ground killed and injured. The tally is rising. The jet had smashed into a hostel used by local doctors. At least three young doctors living in the hostel lost their lives. 

 

Less than a minute after take-off air traffic controllers had received a Mayday call from the plane, as it sank to the ground, burst into flames and clouds of dark smoke were sent up, visible from the airport. In a video, the plane is seen sinking through the lower atmosphere -- in appearance like a planned landing, not an errant crash. As it smashed through the building, the front of the plane penetrated deep into the building. 

 

The plane struck a doctors' hostel after crashing into the residential area of Meghani Nagar on Thursday  Reuters

 

In the  general aura of grief and disbelief, the plane's crash is under investigation as authorities attempt to discern what could have caused the plane to descend when it should have ascended, more seconds following takeoff. And with that mystery waiting to be understood, another that might be more difficult to discern; how out of the hundreds who perished, one man was able to walk away in a state of shock, suffering relatively slight injuries from the massive concussion.