Woman Escapes Tragedy: A 10-Minute Delay Saves Her Life in Air India Crash

A woman narrowly escaped disaster when a 10-minute delay caused her to miss Air India Flight AI-171, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers and crew, plummeted into a residential area in Meghaninagar, killing all but one person on board.

The woman was scheduled to board the ill-fated flight but was delayed by a minor issue,reported. “I was supposed to be on that flight, but a 10-minute delay saved my life,” she told the outlet, expressing relief and disbelief at her fortunate escape. The crash, which occurred minutes after the plane departed at 1:38 p.m. IST, also claimed at least four lives on the ground, including three resident doctors and a pregnant woman, as the aircraft struck a doctors’ hostel at BJ Medical College.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national seated in 11A near an emergency exit, was the sole survivor, managing to escape the wreckage. The Indian government is now considering grounding Air India’s entire Boeing 787 fleet as investigators recover one of the plane’s black boxes to determine the cause of the tragedy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the crash site and met with Ramesh at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.

The incident, India’s deadliest air disaster in nearly three decades, has prompted condolences from global leaders, including China’s President Xi Jinping and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Air India and the Tata Group have announced compensation of Rs 1 crore for the kin of each victim, with additional payments of approximately Rs 1.5 crore under the Montreal Convention treaty.

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