Seat 11A saves again: Thai actor finds chilling coincidence with survivor of Air India crash
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived the 2025 Air India crash from seat 11A — the same seat Thai actor James Loychusak survived in during a 1998 crash
Two men — separated by nearly three decades and thousands of miles — survived devastating plane crashes while seated in the exact same seat: 11A. One crash took place in Thailand in 1998, the other in India in 2025. Now, this eerie coincidence is capturing global attention.
As reported by The Telegraph, James Ruangsak Loychusak, a 47-year-old Thai actor and singer, was among the survivors of Thai Airways flight TG261, which crashed during a landing attempt in Surat Thani in 1998. Of the 146 people on board, 101 lost their lives. Loychusak, seated in 11A, defied the odds — a fact that would gain renewed significance 27 years later.
Loychusak was left stunned upon discovering that the sole survivor of the recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad, identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, had also been seated in 11A. "Survivor of a plane crash in India. He sat in the same seat as me. 11A," Loychusak wrote in a Facebook post, reacting to the uncanny and chilling coincidence.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Air India crash: The only man who walked away
The Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner travelling from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, tragically crashed into a medical college hostel just 33 seconds after take-off, killing 241 people. Miraculously, one passenger survived: 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British Indian national.
Vishwash, who had been in India visiting family, was seated in seat 11A. He was travelling with his elder brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, 45, who was seated elsewhere on the flight. The siblings had recently returned from a trip to Diu.
"Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly," Vishwash told HT.
He recounted the horror: "When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital."
He remains in hospital, recovering, and anxiously searching for news of his brother. "He was travelling with me and I can't find him anymore," he said.
Vishwash has lived in London for the past 20 years, where his wife and child reside — now waiting for his safe return home.
