Lone survivor: one passenger survives Air India AI171 crash

In the aftermath of yesterday’s devastating crash of Air India flight AI171 near Ahmedabad, one extraordinary detail has emerged: a sole survivor. Ramesh Vishwas Kumar, seated in 11A, reportedly managed to use an emergency exit moments after impact, escaping the burning wreckage with only minor injuries.

Speaking to The Hindustan Times, Ramesh Vishwas Kumar recalled hearing a “loud noise” roughly 30 seconds before the aircraft went down. “It all happened so fast,” he said, describing injuries to his chest, eyes, and feet.

“When I stood up, there were bodies all around me. I was terrified. I started running. I saw pieces of the aircraft everywhere. Then someone grabbed me, pushed me into an ambulance, and I was taken to the hospital.” Photographs published by the news site show visible facial injuries, and Kumar also appears in unverified video footage circulating on social media, showing him shortly after the incident.

His miraculous survival, now confirmed by rescue authorities, echoes a handful of rare but unforgettable incidents in aviation history—cases where a single person survived, often against impossible odds, while everyone else on board perished.

Here’s a look back at some of the most remarkable sole survivor stories in aviation:

– Juliane Koepcke – LANSA Flight 508 (Peru, 1971)
In a tale that borders on myth, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke was the only survivor when a LANSA Lockheed L-188 Electra broke apart mid-air after a lightning strike. She fell over 3,000 meters (10,000 ft), still strapped into her seat, and survived alone in the Peruvian jungle for 11 days before being rescued. Her ordeal is still studied today for its psychological and survival aspects.

– Cecelia Cichan – Northwest Airlines Flight 255 (USA, 1987)
Only 4 years old, Cecelia Cichan became the face of a national tragedy when she was found alive in the smoldering wreckage at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. All 154 others on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. Her survival is attributed to her seatbelt and the protective positioning of her seat among the fuselage debris.

– Bahia Bakari – Yemenia Flight 626 (Comoros, 2009)
Dubbed the “Miracle Girl” by French media, 12-year-old Bahia Bakari survived a nighttime crash into the Indian Ocean. Though unable to swim and with only basic flotation, she clung to aircraft debris for over 9 hours before fishermen found her. The accident killed 152 people and raised global concerns about aging fleets and safety oversight.

– Ruben van Assouw – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 (Libya, 2010)
A Dutch schoolboy, Ruben van Assouw, 9, was the only survivor of a crash near Tripoli that killed 103 people, including his parents and brother. Found still strapped to his seat, Ruben’s survival was hailed as a miracle. He was later reunited with family members in the Netherlands.

– Alexander Sizov – Yak-Service Flight 9633 (Russia, 2011)
One of the few adult sole survivors on record, flight engineer Alexander Sizov survived a crash that killed almost the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team. Severely burned, he underwent multiple surgeries and a long rehabilitation. His insights later contributed to the investigation into the aircraft’s overloading and pilot error.