Fate, faith, and flight AI-171: Stories of lives lost and miraculously spared
India's deadliest single-aircraft crash, claiming at least 245 lives including those on board and on the ground, unfolded in just 30 seconds of harrowing footage on Thursday.
An 11-year-old Air India 787-8 Dreamliner, departing from Ahmedabad for London with 242 passengers and crew, lost altitude after climbing barely 425 feet and crashed into a medical college campus, erupting into flames shortly after take-off.
As the nation mourns the lives lost in the crash of Air India flight, stories of near-misses and divine intervention have also emerged—accounts of those who, by sheer chance or last-minute decisions, were spared.
Last-minute change of plan saved businessman
Jayesh Thakkar, a Vadodara based businessman and organiser of the city's 'Maa Shakti' Navratri garba, was originally scheduled to be on the flight but an unexpected delay forced a change. 'I got delayed in Kolkata due to work and realised I wouldn't make it to Ahmedabad in time for the flight.
That's when I decided to change my itinerary,' Thakkar said.
Last-minute change saves life
Savji Timbadia and his family would have been on the ill-fated flight AI 171 had it not been for the last-minute change in plans. He put off Thursday's flight to London by four days. Profusely thanking the divine, he said, 'I owe my life to Swaminarayan.'
Missed flight by a whisker
Bhoomi Chauhan, a woman vacationing in India, was scheduled to return to London on Al-171. Due to heavy traffic, she missed the flight by just 10 minutes.
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'I am so shaken that I can't even speak,' she said, stunned by how close she came to death. In an interview, she credited 'Ganpati Bappa' for saving her life.
Passenger flying from Delhi on same flight felt 'something off'
Akash Vats, who flew in on the same aircraft from Delhi 2 hours before the crash posted on X: 'The AC wasn't working. I was seated near the engine. Something didn't feel right.... The pilot said we might experience turbulence during descent. I found that odd as there were no clouds in sight.'
University president flew on same plane on Wednesday
Dr Devanshu Patel, president of Vadodara-based Parul University, says he's incredibly fortunate after flying on the same aircraft twice in the past 4 days. Patel took the Gatwick-Ahmedabad flight Wednesday, just hours before the same aircraft crashed on its next journey.
Tragedy in the sky: AI-171 crash victims include ex-CM Vijay Rupani
The flight's passenger list had 169 Indians, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese and a Canadian. Ex-Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani was travelling to London to be with his wife and daughter. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had logged 8,200 hours of flying, was in the cockpit with First Officer Clive Kunder. The 10-member cabin crew included two young women from conflict-ridden Manipur.
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