It was suffocating heat From the first hour, and from afar, nothing suggested that something could twist. An Air India plane took speed on the track of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airportin Ahmedabad, he raised the nose and took off. But just a few seconds later, everything changed: he began to lose height and ended up crashing into a residence for doctors. The tail of Boeing 787 Dreamliner It was embedded among the remains.
What seemed like a total tragedy, without any margin for hope, took an unexpected turn just a few hours later. During the first minutes, the figures were devastating: 242 people on board, and any news of survivors. The magnitude of the disaster did not seem to leave place for exceptions.
Until A video began to circulate in social networks and Indian media. In the material, a man advances, with traces of blood, and staggers towards an ambulance. A few hours later, The Interior Ministry of India confirmed What many could not believe: among the passengers of flight AI171, There was a survivor.
The man in seat 11A
How Hindustan Times points outIt is Vishwashkumar Ramesh, a 40 -year -old British citizen who was traveling back to London with her brother, also aboard the flight. He occupied the 11A seat, a row next to an emergency exit. He arrived at the hospital with multiple injuries, disoriented, but out of danger.
His case was confirmed by the Indian authorities and by his own Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the hospital this Friday and briefly met him.
From his bed at the Civil Hospital of Ahmedabad, Vishwashkumar Ramesh spoke with several Indian media about the moments he lived inside the plane. His story, brief and choppy, has been one of the few direct windows inside the flight.
In an interview with DD News Vía BBC said there was a time when the plane seemed as if it were “stuck in the air.” Ramesh continued to explain that “the lights began to flash in green and white” before the collision. “The (emergency) door was broken, I saw that there was a hole. I tried to go out there. And I did. ”
Ramesh explained that he was on the side of the plane that was at the ground level and did not hit the facade of the building. “The other part was embedded in the wall. No one could have left there,” added the only survivor of the tragic accident.
In another statement, Collection by Hindustan Timeshe explained: “When I joined, there were bodies around me. I was scared. I got up and ran. There were pieces of the plane everywhere. ”
The video that showed Ramesh walking towards an ambulance, broadcast shortly after the accident, was the first proof that someone had managed to leave the fuselage in flames. His words make it clear: “I still can’t believe how I have survived.”
How do you survive such an impact?
The question is still open. There is no official explanation on how it managed to survive Ramesh. Nor has it determined If your location on the plane was decisive Not if any structural factor influenced its output. What does exist is technical information about the variables that are usually analyzed in this type of scenarios.
The Washington Post collects the perspective From Anthony Brickhouse, American consultant in air security with almost three decades of experience in the accident survival study. The expert says that researchers usually focus on three main factors:
- The level of force G at the time of impact.
- The structure of the plane that surrounds the passenger.
- The conditions after the clash, such as fires or injuries.
“This man survived something that should not be possible to survive. I can’t scientifically explain how he succeeded.”
Asked about whether certain seats are safer than others, In statements to NewsweekGraham Braithwaite, director of the Aviation Area at Cranfield University, said “is a very difficult question to answer.” He added: “While this does not serve as comfort to those affected by the tragic accident that occurred yesterday, the answer is simple: all the seats of modern aircraft are incredibly safe.”
An unprecedented accident for Dreamliner
Ai171 Air India flight was destined London. He took off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, June 12 at 1:30 p.m. (local time), with 242 people on board: 230 passengers and 12 crew members. Less than a minute later, he crashed into a residence of doctors of the BJ Medical College, located on the perimeter of the airport. More than two hundred people died, including several students who were in the dining room at that time.
The security cameras captured the sequence: the plane took height, stabilized briefly and then struck to crash and explode on fire. The causes of the accident have not yet been determined.
The aircraft was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a model introduced in 2009 and recognized for its fuel and autonomy efficiency. Until the moment of the incident, the Dreamliner accumulated more than a thousand units delivered and no fatal accident registered in commercial operations.
The wrecked apparatus was delivered to Air India in 2014 and had made more than 8,000 take -offs and landings, according to data from the firm Cirium. The General Directorate of Civil Aviation of India reported that the pilots issued a Mayday emergency signal after takeoff, but there was no more communication from the cabin.
A few hours after the impact, the authorities confirmed the recovery of one of the black boxes. The analysis of the flight data registrar will be key to clarify what happened. Experts consulted by international means have indicated that unusual configurations are observed in the take -off video, such as the deployed landing gear and the flaps without extending, although for now there are no official conclusions.
Images | Interior Minister of India (1, 2) | Prime Minister of India (1, 2)
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