Air India crash survivor still dreams of his ordeal in seat 11A

Times

15 hours ago

When one passenger emerged from the flames of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad last month, it was hailed as a miracle.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was sitting in seat 11A, suffered only cuts to his face and some chest injuries, but his biggest battle has been accepting that he is the only person out of 242 passengers and crew to survive, his family said last week.
'He can't sleep at night,' said Krunal Keshave, 24, from Leicester, a member of the extended family who describes Kumar Ramesh as his 'uncle'. 'He sleeps but doesn't sleep properly. When he sleeps, he dreams he is on the flight. He remembers seeing everyone die in front of his eyes.'
He said Kumar Ramesh has chosen to remain in India to recuperate in Bucharwada village in Diu, on the coast of the western state of Gujarat, rather than returning to his home in London or to his family's home in Leicester.
He has been called the 'miracle man', 'God's child', and a 'symbol of hope' by Indian media, and locals treat him as an object of awe and wonder, describing him in hushed tones as 'the man who cannot be killed'. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner came down less than a minute after take-off, crashing into a hostel building used to accommodate doctors, which killed another 19 people.
Kumar Ramesh is dealing not just with the unimaginable events of flight AI 171 on June 12, but also the loss his younger brother, Ajay, 35, who was on the plane, which was heading to Gatwick.
'He sees him [Ajay] everywhere,' said Keshave, who had just returned from Diu. 'He speaks but he doesn't speak about the crash. His wife and his son [who is four] are there with him, supporting him. He is currently trying to have a normal life, but he is not going out too much. He is spending time at home with the family. He was living in the house in Diu with his brother before the crash.'
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Another relative said: 'He feels guilty that he is the only one to have lived when everybody else, including his brother, died. It's a lot to live with.'
Described as stoic, reserved and reliable by those who know him, Kumar Ramesh had been in India visiting relatives in Diu, whilst also taking care of a fishing business he ran with Ajay. Their boats would catch pomfret, mackerel and sardines to sell to local seafood suppliers.
For the past three years the brothers would live in India during the fishing season, which begins in September and ends in May, just before the start of the monsoon season. They were returning to the UK last month during the off-season, and had booked a ticket a week before the flight.
A 15-page preliminary investigation by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), published earlier this month, revealed confusion in the cockpit between the two pilots, with one asking the other why he had moved the fuel switches, and the other denying having done so.
US authorities believe the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, was responsible for cutting the fuel to the plane's engines shortly after take-off, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Clive Kunder, 32, the co-pilot, was flying the plane, while Sabharwal was monitoring each step.
More than 20 bereaved families, whose loved ones were passengers, are now taking legal action against Air India in the High Court to force the release of the pilots' personnel files and other evidence.
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A pre-action letter of claim sent by the legal firm, Keystone Law, which specialises in international aviation law, requests 'a copy of all the pilots' occupational records including any health assessment' and 'a copy of your training materials and any disclosure relevant to your assessment of the pilots' competence, health and training'.
The letter also asks for 'a copy of all disclosure relating to the throttle control module replacement'. The throttle control module on the aircraft, which contained the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023. The switches come with safety mechanisms preventing them being flicked off accidentally.
James Healy-Pratt, an aviation law expert and a partner at Keystone Law, said: 'There are two areas of focus: the fuel control switches and their history, and the 26 seconds in the cockpit between lift-off and [the] pilots' mayday, and the potential for the fuel switches having been moved by one of the crew members.'
He said the families were also planning to lodge a legal action against Boeing in the US federal courts in Virginia, where Boeing is based, in order to find out more about the fuel switch mechanism.
Indian investigators will deliver a more extensive AAIB report on the crash in the next year.
Air India said it 'stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI 171 accident'. A spokesman said: 'We continue to fully co-operate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses.'
Since giving some interviews to Indian media immediately after the crash, Kumar Ramesh has been silent while he recovers.
'I thought I would die. Everything happened in front of my eyes,' he said at the time. 'There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me [the emergency exit]. It was open. I ran. I don't know how. I don't know how I came out of it alive. I saw people dying in front of my eyes.'