11A – Seat Once Hated Most In Europe Turned Lucky For Lone Survivor In Air India Crash

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Last Updated:June 14, 2025, 13:14 IST

A British national walked out alive from the wreckage of Air India 171 plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday. He was seated in 11A seat, where there was an exit.

Ticket of the lone survivor in Ahmedabad plane crash (PTI Image)

It’s unbelievable how one incident can flip human perspective about a thing upside down – in a positive as well as negative manner. The tragic Air India 171 plane that crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday claimed 241 lives on board, while one British national walked out of the wreckage in what many termed a miraculous escape.

Vishwashkumar Ramesh was seated in 11A on the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which was en route to London Gatwick. The aircraft, considered one of the most powerful and safest in the aviation industry, crashed seconds after taking off from the Ahmedabad International Airport, sending shockwaves across India and the world.

His survival was viewed by many as luck or a blessing, while several people also pointed to the 11A, calling it a ‘Miracle seat’. This seat number is considered one of the worst on another model of the aircraft – Boeing 737.

“I’ve no idea how I survived. For a while, I thought I was dying too. But when I opened my eyes, I tried to get out. I saw that the gate was broken and there was a small gap. I jumped through it," Ramesh told DD News, while being hospitalised.

In Air India’s Boeing 787 seating layout, Seat 11A is a regular Economy seat located in the exit row, right next to the emergency door. While many passengers usually avoid this seat because it doesn’t recline much and is close to the door, this exact spot may have helped save Ramesh’s life.

Seating arrangement of Air India 787 (Photo: Seatguru.com)

11A – Windowless Window Seat

11A is infamously described as a window seat without a window on the Boeing 737-900 and 900ER.

Due to internal components like AC ducts, some seats ahead of the wing — like 9A to 12A — on Boeing 737s have no windows. Seat 11A, often called “the windowless window seat," is a frequent target of jokes and complaints from passengers expecting a view outside the window.

One of the most well-known cases is with Ryanair, a budget airline based in Ireland. Its Seat 11A also has no window, which has drawn criticism from passengers who were upset to find their ‘window seat’ missing the actual window.

However, with the miraculous exit of the 11A passenger, the perspective around this seat number seems to be changing, with users online now asking airlines like Ryanair if those operating Boeing 737s will start charging extra bucks for this particular seat. What was once mocked is now seen as a symbol of incredible luck.

Ashesh Mallick

Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes...Read More

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