When Ruangsak Loychusak read about the Air India crash that claimed 241 lives and spared only one, he was overcome with goosebumps. The survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, had been seated in 11A the very seat Ruangsak had occupied 27 years ago during his own brush with death.
Back in December 1998, Ruangsak was just 20 when Thai Airways Flight TG261 crashed while attempting to land in southern Thailand. Of the 146 on board, 101 were killed. Ruangsak, seated in 11A, survived. Now a 47-year-old actor-singer in Thailand, he described his life post-crash as his “second life.” For years, he struggled with survivor’s guilt and trauma, and stayed off flights for a decade.
Now, fate has thrown up a haunting coincidence.
On June 13, 2025, Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner headed to London, crashed moments after take-off from Ahmedabad. Among the 242 people onboard, only one lived: 40-year-old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh who was in seat 11A.
Like Ruangsak decades ago, Ramesh was seated next to an emergency exit. Upon impact, he was flung from the aircraft. Despite burns and injuries, he staggered out and found an ambulance. “At first I thought I was going to die,” he said from his hospital bed. “But then I realised I was still alive.”
The uncanny link between the two crashes and the matching seat number has captivated the public. Ruangsak posted about it on Facebook: “Survivor of a plane crash in India. He sat in the same seat as me. 11A.”
He no longer has his old boarding pass, but media coverage from 1998 confirms his seat number.
The miracle surrounding seat 11A has since gone viral, triggering online chatter, superstition, and even demand from curious travelers hoping to book it. Emergency exit rows, particularly 11A, are suddenly viewed not just as extra legroom, but perhaps something more mysterious.
Ruangsak, now at peace with his past, offered condolences to families grieving the Air India disaster. “It is a second chance at life,” he said, reflecting on the emotional and spiritual weight such survival carries.
Two men. Two disasters. One seat. A coincidence? Or something more?
Either way, seat 11A will never be just another number again.
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