On December 11, 1998, an Airbus A310-300 from Thai Airways, flying from Bangkok to Surat Thani, crashed during landing into an air traffic control tower, then into a swamp. Ruangsak Loychusak, who was seated in 11A, was one of the survivors.
On June 23, 2025, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, flying from Ahmedabad to London, crashed 30 seconds after takeoff into a student residence. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, seated in 11A, was the sole survivor.
This is a story of two men who cheated death. Two plane accidents with 27 years apart, one in southern Thailand and the other in western India, share the same coincidence, the same miracle: both survivors were seated in seat 11A.
In the Buddhist kingdom of Southeast Asia, many remembered Loychusak's story when news broke of a survivor in the recent plane crash in India. "The detail of the seat gave me chills," said Loychusak, a 47-year-old Thai actor and singer, in statements to local media.
"The only survivor of the plane crash in India was seated in the same seat as me, 11A," he recounted. In his tragedy, when the plane he was on crashed while attempting to land at Surat Thani airport in southern Thailand, 101 out of the 146 people on board died. In the Ahmedabad incident, India's fourth-largest city, 241 out of 242 passengers and crew perished.
"I still remember the sounds, the smells, and even the taste of the swamp water where the plane crashed. For a long time, all of that haunted me, and I didn't board a plane for over 10 years," recounted the Thai survivor. "I can't even believe how I survived. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too. But when I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived," recalled the Indian survivor over the weekend.
Ramesh (40 years old), a British citizen of Indian origin, is still recovering from his injuries at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. His 11A seat was right behind an emergency exit, next to the left window. His brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, was also on the plane but did not survive. "Suddenly, the lights started flashing, green and white, and then the plane crashed. When I saw the exit, I thought I could get out. I tried and succeeded. I saw people die before my eyes: the flight attendants and two people I was very close to," he recalled from his hospital bed during an interview with a local Indian television station.
Despite the incredible stories of Ramesh and Loychusak, experts point out that it is impossible to predict survival in a plane crash based on seat location. Additionally, the specific position of 11A varies depending on each plane's configuration. "In this particular case, since the passenger was seated next to the emergency exit, obviously that was the safest seat," said Ron Bartsch, president of AvLaw Aviation Consulting, a Sydney-based aviation consultancy, to Australian network ABC.
Air India flight AI171 crashed into a residential area and finally into a medical college canteen, 1.5 kilometers from the airport, erupting into a massive fireball. The death toll has risen to 279, including several students and area workers. As of Sunday night, 47 victims had been identified.