Bhoomi Chauhan, a business student returning to the UK, missed her flight to London Gatwick due to severe traffic. The flight crashed shortly after takeoff, claiming 241 lives, leaving Chauhan reflecting on the "miracle" that spared her life.
Student's Traffic Delay Saves Her Life as Air India Flight Crashes
Student's Traffic Delay Saves Her Life as Air India Flight Crashes
A miraculous twist of fate kept a student from boarding a doomed Air India flight just 10 minutes before its tragic crash.
Bhoomi Chauhan experienced a range of emotions as she navigated through bumper-to-bumper traffic, ultimately leading to her narrow escape from a catastrophic event. The 28-year-old business administration student, visiting western India, arrived at Ahmedabad airport just ten minutes late for her Air India flight to London Gatwick— a timing that would prove fortuitous.
The day started with a planned journey from Ankleshwar, located 201 km (125 miles) south of Ahmedabad, but delays in city traffic pushed her arrival to the airport until 12:20 PM local time. Unfortunately, by that point, boarding was already closed, and despite having checked in online and holding a digital boarding pass for seat 36G, airline employees denied her entry to the plane.
Reflecting on the experience, Chauhan remarked, "I was very disappointed," and admitted she felt anger toward her driver over the delays. She and her husband briefly left the airport for a tea break while contemplating how to deal with her canceled flight when she received the shocking call informing her that the flight had crashed shortly after takeoff.
Dubbed AI171, the flight faced severe complications shortly after departure, resulting in the tragic loss of 241 lives on board, along with numerous casualties on the ground. The quick ascent turned dangerous, leading to a crash just 30 seconds post-takeoff, hitting a residential area and claiming the lives of passengers including British nationals who were among the area's prominent family members.
Bhoomi continued to share her thoughts regarding her narrow escape during an interview with the BBC's Gujarati service, declaring it a "miracle." "If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane," she lamented. Meanwhile, emergency services tirelessly worked throughout Thursday and into the following day to recover debris and search for more answers in the aftermath of the crash, leaving the world anxious for updates on what led to this devastating event.
As the families of victims begin their mourning processes, questions about the airline's accountability and aircraft safety loom large in the public discourse, alongside growing analyses regarding the crash's implications for Boeing and the aviation industry at large.
