Want to sit in ‘miracle’ seat 11A? It will cost you

4 days ago 4

Although he didn’t know it at the time, when Vishwash Kumar Ramesh walked away from the blazing wreck of Air India flight 171 on June 12, 2025, he was probably the luckiest person on the planet that day.

The flight he was on had just taken off from Ahmedabad in India’s western state of Gujarat, yet after just a few seconds the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was in difficulty, losing power and failing to gain altitude. Less than 40 seconds after its wheels left the ground it crashed into the hostel block of a medical college.

Upon impact the fuel tanks ruptured, spilling more than 100 tonnes of highly inflammable fuel from tanks which had been topped up for the long flight to the UK’s Gatwick Airport. Instantly the aircraft became a flaming inferno. There was almost no chance that any of the 242 passengers and crew would escape, but miraculously, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh survived and walked free, burned and dazed but alive.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was the sole survivor of the Air India crash.

How did Ramesh survive?

In Ramesh’s own words, part of an exclusive interview with NDTV, “the side where I was seated fell into the ground floor of the building. There was some space. When the door broke, I saw that space and I just jumped out. The door must’ve broken on impact. There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don’t know how. I don’t know how I came out of it alive. For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive, and I opened my seat belt and got out of there.”

Ramesh was sitting in seat 11A, and SeatMaps shows that as a bulkhead seat on the port side of the aircraft. There’s an emergency exit door right next to that seat, and that gave him an escape route. There’s also plenty of empty space in front of that seat, and despite the force of the impact, there were no seats immediately in front that would have been likely to cause injuries in more crowded parts of the cabin.

Turning to aeroLOPA, another website with diagrammatic displays of aircraft layouts, 11A is located three rows forward of the wings. The wingbox, where the wings attach to the fuselage, is a particularly robust section of the aircraft. It needs to be since it bears the weight of the wings, and this might have contributed to Ramesh’s survival.

Among other factors that helped Ramesh, the 40-year-old looks strong, and he was travelling alone. Although a brother was on the same flight, they weren’t sitting together. That meant he wasn’t inclined to look for family or friends sitting alongside. When the opportunity to escape presented itself, he moved fast.

How do you score an emergency exit row seat?

Emergency exit row seats are prized since they offer more legroom than standard economy seats. Airlines have monetised their appeal, charging a premium price for those seats. The cost varies from about $20 to more than $200, depending on the airline and the length of the flight. They’re charged by the sector, which could add $400 to the price of a one-stop flight to Europe.

Passengers in emergency exit row seats must meet safety criteria. They must be over about 15 years of age, although that varies slightly. They must also understand English, be physically capable of opening the door in an emergency, and willing to assist other passengers. While anyone can book an emergency exit row, it’s not a given they’ll be sitting in that seat. Airline staff are charged with ensuring exit row passengers are fit and able to do what’s required in an emergency. If there’s any doubt, the passenger can be reseated. That doesn’t always happen. There are plenty of instances from recent flights where I’ve doubted whether the emergency exit row passengers would be able to perform their role. It’s worth noting that while airlines are required to fill those seats, due to their premium price it sometimes happens that those seats are not booked. Asking politely at the check-in desk might land you a prime position with plenty of stretch room.

The downsides of emergency exit row seats

In a crash, a window seat at an emergency exit gives you the best chance of escape.

Emergency exits are located either behind the bulkheads, which divide the cabin into sections, or in rows in mid-cabin. Those behind the bulkhead have heaps of legroom, but since there’s no seat in front, and therefore no storage pouch, anything larger than a book or a tablet must be stowed in the overhead locker for take-off and landings. The entertainment screen is located below the armrest and can’t be deployed until the ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign turns off. The tray table is located in the armrest, which slightly reduces seat width.

If the seats are located near a toilet, passengers tend to congregate in the empty space in front. Finally, infants might be seated in the same row since the bassinet fixings are located on the bulkhead wall. Choose an exit row seat away from the bulkhead and you dodge most of these problems.

The takeaway

In the event of a crash, sitting in the window seat beside an emergency exit gives you the best chance of escape from a stricken aircraft.

Paying attention to the safety briefing and rehearsing the steps to take in an emergency also helps. An overwing seat, at one of the strongest points in the aircraft, might tilt the balance in your favour, but there’s no evidence to support that. Lady Luck played a part in Vishwash Kumar Ramesh’s escape, but whether she’s on your side is unknown, and unknowable. His brother, Ajay, was seated in the same row on the opposite side of the cabin, in seat 11J. That’s also a window seat right next to an emergency exit, but Ajay didn’t survive.

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