Sole survivor of Air India crash has an incredible story — but he's not unique

A miracle. Stunning. Unbelievable. 

These are immoderate of the reactions online and successful headlines astir the satellite about Vishwashkumar Ramesh, the sole subsister of the Air India clang that killed 241 radical connected committee and respective more on the crushed aft the level crashed minutes aft takeoff. 

The Dreamliner struck a aesculapian assemblage hostel erstwhile it crashed successful a shot of occurrence into a residential country of the northwestern Indian metropolis of Ahmedabad Thursday. DNA investigating was being conducted to place bodies that were mostly charred beyond recognition. More victims are expected to beryllium recovered successful the hunt of the clang site.

And then, there's Ramesh, who constabulary accidental managed to flight done the breached exigency exit on the Boeing 787-8 bound for London.

U.K. media person dubbed it the "miracle of spot 11A." Widely shared video purports to amusement Ramesh limping connected the thoroughfare successful a blood-stained T-shirt with bruises connected his look (the video has not beryllium independently verified by CBC News) earlier helium is led to an ambulance.

"I don't judge however I survived," 40-year-old Ramesh told Indian authorities broadcaster DD News from his infirmary furniture connected Friday.

As unbelievable arsenic Ramesh's communicative whitethorn sound — even to him — it's happened before. It's rare, but successful caller decades, respective different radical person been the lone survivors of level crashes.

And portion each of their stories whitethorn dependable similar miracles, 1 adept says it's much astir a fig of improbable variables aligning.

Stephen Wood, an subordinate objective professor at Northeastern University successful Boston and expert successful catastrophe medicine and EMS, said it's "extraordinarily rare" for idiosyncratic to past a level clang of the magnitude of Air India's. Commercial airliners are engineered for safety, but successful catastrophic, high-impact crashes, the forces progressive often transcend survivable limits.

"It's understandable that radical are calling it a miracle, fixed the circumstances," helium told CBC News.

WATCH | Survivor appears to locomotion distant from crash site: 

But from a method perspective, Wood added, endurance successful these kinds of events is "usually owed to a confluence of uncommon but explainable factors, including the aircraft's breakup pattern, interaction dynamics, the survivor's presumption and condition, and sometimes conscionable seconds of timing."

"In catastrophe medicine, we notation to this arsenic a 'sole survivor' event, and globally, these hap possibly erstwhile each fewer decades."

Other sole survivors of level crashes

There are dozens of sole survivors of level crashes, connected flights large and small, dating backmost to astatine slightest 1929. That's erstwhile Lou Foote, an American pilot, survived erstwhile a sightseeing level crashed adjacent the Newark, N.J., airport, sidesplitting 14 people. According to the New York Times, helium returned to the skies 3 months later.

You person to skip guardant a fewer decades to get to sole survivors of larger flights. In 1970, determination was Juan Loo, the co-pilot of a Peruvian airliner that crashed and killed 99 people. It had taken off minutes earlier.

In 1971, Juliane Koepcke was 17 erstwhile she survived LANSA Flight 508, which killed 91 others, including her mother, erstwhile it crashed into the Peruvian jungle aft being struck by lighting.

"It was transportation achromatic and radical were screaming, past the heavy roaring of the engines filled my caput completely," she told BBC successful 2012.

"Suddenly the sound stopped and I was extracurricular the plane. I was successful a freefall, strapped to my spot seat and hanging head-over-heels... I could spot the canopy of the jungle spinning towards me. Then I mislaid consciousness and retrieve thing of the impact." 

She survived the 3,000-metre autumn aft the level broke into pieces, positive different 10 days wandering the jungle unsocial and injured.

There was formation attendant Vesna Vulović, who survived Yugoslav Airlines Flight 367 successful 1972. The level exploded midair from a suspected bomb, sidesplitting each different 27 rider and crew.

According to BBC, Vulović was trapped by a nutrient cart successful the plane's process conception arsenic it fell 10,000 metres to earth. It's thought that the dense snowfall helped cushion the impact.

"Whenever I deliberation of the accident, I person a prevailing, sedate feeling of guilt for surviving it and I cry," she told the Independent successful 2012. 

More recently, Mailén Díaz Almaguer survived a 2018 level clang successful Havana that killed 112 others. The Boeing 737 went down and erupted successful flames soon aft takeoff. Two different women initially survived the clang but died of their injuries. 

Children among sole survivors

Sometimes, the sole survivors are children, like Cecelia Crocker — known arsenic Cecelia Cichan astatine the clip of the 1987 clang — who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 255 erstwhile it crashed successful the Detroit suburb of Romulus, Mich., sidesplitting 154 radical connected board, including her parents and brother. She was four.

Crocker said successful a 2013 documentary that she thought astir the clang each time and that she had scars connected her arms, legs and forehead. She had besides gotten an airplane tattoo connected her wrist.

Bahia Bakari, past 12, lived done a formation that crashed adjacent the Comoros islands successful 2009. Yemenia Airways Flight 626 crashed into the Indian Ocean betwixt the southeastern African seashore and Madagascar. The different 152 passengers, including Bahia's mother, each died.

After the level plunged into the ocean, she grasped a floating portion of the destroyed level and stayed successful the h2o for much than 11 hours earlier being saved by fishermen.

Bakari was taken to infirmary successful the capital, Moroni, past repatriated to France. She suffered a breached collarbone, a breached hip, burns and different injuries.

Ruben van Assouw survived the Afriqiyah Airways Airbus that crashed connected attack to Tripoli, sidesplitting 103 passengers and unit connected May 12, 2010. The nine-year-old Dutch lad was inactive strapped to his seat, unconscious but inactive breathing, his legs shattered amid the debris scattered successful the Libyan godforsaken sand.

He was travelling location from a safari with his parents and member and learned that helium was the sole subsister lone days later.

'Survival doesn't ever bring resolution'

Ramesh, the Air India survivor, suffered burns and bruises and has been kept nether observation, an authoritative astatine the Civil Hospital successful Ahmedabad told Reuters by phone, requesting anonymity. Ramesh also mislaid his member successful the crash.

"His flight ... and without immoderate grievous injury, was thing abbreviated of a miracle. He besides realizes that and is simply a spot shaken by the trauma of it, too," the authoritative said.

Several captious variables had to align successful this lawsuit for him to survive, suggested Wood, the catastrophe medicine expert.

First, Ramesh's seat, which was adjacent an exigency exit implicit the wing, whitethorn person placed him successful a structurally reinforced zone. Second, the space and velocity of impact may person created a "survivability pocket," oregon an "isolated country wrong the fuselage that was not crushed oregon engulfed successful fire," Wood said.

Finally, factors similar being decently restrained, remaining conscious and leaving the country rapidly whitethorn person contributed significantly, helium said.

"These are each uncommon circumstances that would request to travel unneurotic precisely," Wood said.

George Lamson Jr., past a 17-year-old from Plymouth, Minn., was connected a Galaxy Airlines formation that crashed successful Reno, Nev., in 1985. Of the 71 passengers and unit connected committee the charter flight, helium was the lone survivor.

Lamson successful a societal media station Thursday said the quality of a level clang successful India with lone 1 subsister shook him. 

"These events don't conscionable marque headlines. They permission a lasting echo successful the lives of those who've lived done thing similar," he wrote.

"Survival doesn't ever bring resolution. Life keeps unfolding aft thing similar that, and the value of it tin amusement up years aboriginal successful ways you don't expect."

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