Brit was booked onto doomed Air India plane but had to change last minute plans
A British dad said he was left in shock after learning the Air India flight he was due to take home had crashed.
Owen Jackson, from Saffron Waldon, Essex was on a work trip and needed to stay in India longer than planned so never boarded the plane that went down shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The businessman changed to a flight leaving on Saturday – which would have been the same aircraft – and in a strange coincidence, was booked onto seat 11A.
This is the same seat as Vishwashkumar Ramesh, the sole survivor of the Gatwick-bound crash, which killed the remaining 241 people onboard and an estimated 33 on the ground.
Mr Jackson, who was visiting a call centre in the area, told The Sun: 'It's a shock. I'm more grateful than anything else – it is such a weird coincidence.
'You hear it every now and again about planes going down and you don't really think much of it, but when it's the actual aircraft you're potentially getting on two days later, it does make you think.'
At the time of the crash, Mr Jackson had not let his family know when he was due to fly back.
He also didn't find out about the accident until two hours after it happened as he was in meetings, therefore missing frantic messages from his wife Phillipa.
She said the time before she managed to get hold of him felt like being in a dream, but had to hide her emotions as she was teaching children at the time. More Trending
'I still feel affected by it now, to be honest with you. For days I was just bursting into tears randomly,' she said.
She added, however, that her emotions were nothing compared to what those who had lost loved ones were going through.
Meanwhile the flight's pilot, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, has been hailed a 'hero' after diverting the plane at the last second to swerve a block of flats.
Although several people in the doctor's hostel, which the plane ultimately hit, died, if it had struck the three storey block of flats all 18 families living there could have died.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: New footage of Air India plane gives clue about why it crashed
MORE: Mum-of-two is first British Air India crash victim released to family
MORE: Boy who filmed Air India crash was trying to show friends 'how planes fly'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
19 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside world's ‘creepiest' island with 160,000 abandoned corpses where tourists are BANNED from stepping foot
The island had a significant purpose during the eighteenth century OFF LIMITS Inside world's 'creepiest' island with 160,000 abandoned corpses where tourists are BANNED from stepping foot Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE world's most creepy island is littered with hundreds of thousands of abandoned corpses and intrepid travellers are barred from entering. Poveglia sits just off the coast of Venice and is comprised of three small areas, each as creepy as the last. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 A scenic view of the abandoned Poveglia island in the Venetian Lagoon in Italy Credit: Getty 5 A ruined building lies crumbling on the supposedly haunted island Credit: Getty 5 An abandoned building on the island Credit: Alamy One includes countless crumbling derelict buildings, one was once used as a military fort and the third is barely visible after being covered by overgrown plants. And it is because of those unstable buildings that tourists are banned from setting foot on the spine-tingling patch of land. Rare exceptions are made for official reasons, such as research or filming. The reason for the island's spooky reputation is what is was used for in centuries past. In the 18th century, Poveglia was used as a quarantine station during outbreaks of the plague. People were dragged kicking and screaming to the island if they showed even the slightest symptoms of the Black Death, according to local tales. The 18-acre plot was also used as a mass burial ground, where some 160,000 victims are thought to have been burned to stop the spread of the disease. It has been said that even to this day, human ash from these cremations make up more than 50 per cent of the island's soil. British urban explorers Matt Nadin, 40, and Andy Thompson, 54, filmed themselves visiting areas of the island that have been left untouched for decades in 2020. Then duo posted the footage to their YouTube channel, Finders Beepers History Seekers, where they can often be found exploring abandoned and historic places of interest. English seaside town to transform abandoned beach shelters into new attraction Matt said: "It was really, really eerie. "You could tell even the taxi driver was scared, not just of the police but of the place itself, he couldn't get away quick enough. "The island is so full of dark, dark history, a hell of a lot of people died there and you really get a sense of the horrors that took place there while you're walking around. "They burnt all the bodies and left them where they lay. The island has never really been cleared properly or anything so everything has just been left. "Later on, when it was turned into an asylum, and because people were shoved there out of the way of prying eyes, they started to do experiments on them, horrible, horrible stuff. "Whilst we were there, we heard the bell toll and that was quite spooky, that did actually freak me out a little bit. It was like an omen or something. "The whole place was just really weird and eerie although you could tell from the tiles and the archways it would have been a beautiful building originally. "You could see that hardly anyone had set foot there for years because there is no graffiti or anything it's all just natural decay. "Nature has really taken over and it was really typical of a horror movie with all the vines and creepers. "Definitely an experience I won't forget in a hurry." 5 A Venetian geriatric hospital Credit: Getty
Metro
23 minutes ago
- Metro
Map shows how hot it has to get before it is officially a heatwave in the UK
It's time to dig out the sun umbrellas and stay hydrated as UK temperatures look set to soar for the rest of the week. A plume of warm air is being dragged in from Europe, meaning parts of the country could be hotter than Istanbul this weekend. Forecasters predict it will be London and the south of England that will be baking in the hottest of this week's rising temperatures. Some Britons are set to bask in a heatwave this week. The Met Office defines the weather event as when temperatures meet or exceed the threshold for a specific area for three consecutive days. As shown in the map above, in London, this is 28°C, whereas in cities including Bristol, Cardiff and Manchester, the threshold is 27°C, 26°C and 25°C, respectively. Tony Wisson, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'By the beginning of the weekend, we could very well be meeting heatwave thresholds in places. 'While the warmest temperatures are likely across London and the east of England, by Saturday heatwave thresholds could be reached across much of the Midlands, low-lying areas bordering the Peak District and even parts of east Wales.' The burst of heat is expected to peak this weekend before easing early next week. There is uncertainty in how quickly it will cool, with some models predicting temperatures in the mid-30s by Monday. It's thought the south of England could cling onto the warmer weather for a bit longer and perhaps even stick around for Glastonbury's kick-off on June 25. Forecasters are expecting temperatures in London to soar to 29°C by Thursday, reaching 31°C by Friday and then peaking at 32°C by Saturday. The hot weather is then expected to spread further north, with Manchester and Newcastle enjoying temperatures into the late 20s by the weekend. Some parts of the country will surpass temperatures in holiday hotspots such as Lisbon, Portugal, and Barcelona, Spain – which are predicted to reach 29°C on Saturday. The Met Office said several places were expected to exceed 30°C on Saturday, surpassing Nice, France and making them the UK's highest temperatures of the year so far. The Met Office confirmed the UK's record high temperature was 40.3°C. The mercury hits those heights in Lincolnshire in July 2022. More Trending The extreme temperatures were recorded as the UK was sweltering in an unprecedented heatwave. In that time, the previous UK record temperature of 38.7°C was provisionally met or exceeded in 46 places across the UK, while seven areas saw temperatures above 40°C. Dr Mark McCarthy, from the National Climate Information Centre, told the Met Office in 2022 that without human-induced climate change, 'it would be virtually impossible for temperatures in the UK to reach 40°C.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Man who killed schoolboy, 14, with samurai sword 're-enacted attack in hospital' MORE: Nursery worker Roksana Lecka found guilty of punching and kicking children while addicted to cannabis MORE: Rachel Zegler's West End debut sparks controversy over shock move
Leader Live
27 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Starmer urges Britons in Israel to register their presence
The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Israel, but Britons already in the country now face difficulties getting home, with the airspace closed due to the conflict with Iran. The Prime Minister said the UK was issuing advice to its citizens in Israel, speaking ahead of talks with other G7 leaders in Canada. 'All of us are giving advice to our citizens for British nationals in Israel, we're giving advice today to register their presence, so there will be a portal for that,' Sir Keir said. Downing Street said its key message to British nationals in Israel was to stay near shelter and follow the advice of local authorities. The UK has no plans to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel but support has been stepped up in Jordan and Egypt for people who make their own way overland. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told MPs travel advice was being updated with information about border crossing points. He said: 'The situation remains fast-moving. We expect more strikes in the days to come. 'This is a moment of grave danger for the region.' Mr Lammy said 'further escalation in the Middle East is not in Britain's interests, nor the interests of Israel, Iran or the region' and a wider war in an oil-producing region 'poses real risks for the global economy'. The UK now advises against all travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. My message to British nationals there is clear – your safety remains our top priority. Follow our travel advice for the latest updates: — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 15, 2025 He added: 'Our message to both Israel and Iran is clear: Step back, show restraint. 'Don't get pulled ever deeper into a catastrophic conflict whose consequences nobody can control.' Poland has announced an evacuation of around 200 of its citizens in a bus convoy to Jordan, while the Czech Republic and Slovakian governments have organised repatriation flights from the region. Iran fired further missiles at Israel overnight, while Israel's military claimed to have 'full air superiority' over Tehran as strikes continued. The escalating conflict will be high on the agenda as leaders from the G7 group of wealthy democracies meet in Canada. Sir Keir said that he thought there was a 'consensus for de-escalation' before heading into meetings in Alberta on Monday, with US President Donald Trump among those set to attend. 'I spoke to President Trump just in recent days, and, of course, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and to pretty well all of the G7 leaders yesterday,' Sir Keir said. 'And I do think there's a consensus for de-escalation. 'Obviously, what we need to do today is to bring that together and to be clear about how it is to be brought about. 'But the risk of the conflict escalating is obvious, I think, and the implications, not just for the region but globally, are really immense, so the focus has to be on de-escalation.' Mr Trump is reported to have vetoed an Israeli plan to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Downing Street would not be drawn on whether the UK was aware of the plan to assassinate the Iranian leader. A No 10 spokesman said: 'We wouldn't comment on private conversations or intelligence matters. 'We are concerned by further escalation, which is in no-one's interest, and we're working closely with our allies to press for a return to diplomacy.'
