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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Air India plane crash: Last-minute change in travel plans spares Vadodara man
Air India plane crash (Photo: AP) VADODARA: A providential change in travel plans due to an extended stay in Kolkata spared the life of Jayesh Thakkar, a prominent Vadodara-based businessman and organiser of the famed 'Maa Shakti' Navratri garba who was scheduled to board the ill-fated Air India AI-171 flight from Ahmedabad to London, reports Sachin Sharma. Thakkar, who frequents London - where he also operates an office - was in Kolkata and had planned to fly to Ahmedabad to catch the London-bound flight. However, an unexpected delay in his schedule forced him to change his travel route. "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 told TOI. Instead, he routed his journey through Delhi, from where he planned to catch another flight to London. But as he landed in Delhi, news of the AI-171 crash broke. "I was stunned. It could have been me," he said. Thakkar immediately cancelled his trip and returned to Vadodara.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
A flight full of stories: Love, farewells, and fateful escapes on doomed AI-171
Air India Flight AI-171 crashed near Ahmedabad, shattering dreams of passengers ranging from a newly engaged couple returning from the UK to a family relocating to London AHMEDABAD: They boarded Air India Flight AI-171 with dreams, plans, and goodbyes, some returning home, others setting off to build a new life. By the afternoon, those dreams lay in wreckage near a residential colony in Ahmedabad. From a couple who had just gotten engaged during a brief return from the UK, to a family relocating to London for a new chapter, and a pair of spiritual healers bidding a joyful farewell to India, the flight was filled with stories, now etched in tragedy. Some escaped by fate, changing plans at the last minute. Others, hours before the crash, flew safely on the very same aircraft. 'Goodbye, India' The British couple A British couple — Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek (39) and his husband Jamie Meek (45) — working as spiritual healers uploaded an Instagram video, which would turn out to be their last, from Ahmedabad airport saying how happy and calm India had left them. They had been travelling in the country and posted videos of their holiday. 'We are going back happily happily happily calm,' Fiongal said. Doctor couple's shift to London ends tragically Doctor couple The dream of a welcome transition to life in London for Dr Prateek Joshi, his wife, Dr Komi Vyas, and their children — daughter Miraya and sons Pradyut & Nakul — came to a tragic end. Dr Vyas, a doctor at Pacific Medical College & Hospital in Udaipur, had recently resigned to join her husband in London along with the kids Last-minute change of plan saved bizman Jayesh Thakkar, a Vadodarabased 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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo '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. 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. Couple took 10-day leave from UK to get engaged - Vibhuti Patel and Hardik Avaiya had come from UK on a 10-day break to celebrate their engagement. Patel had moved to UK to pursue her master's at Leicester College. There she met Avaiya and both fell in love. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Зачем поджигать лавровый перед сном? Undo '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. Follow more information on Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad here . Get real-time live updates on rescue operations and check full list of passengers onboard AI 171 .
