Bhoomi Chauhan missed her flight to London due to severe traffic, narrowly avoiding the disastrous crash of Air India Flight AI171 shortly after takeoff. Just 10 minutes late, Chauhan reflects on the experience as a miracle, having checked in but unable to board.
"Miracle Escape: Student Misses Fatal Air India Flight by Minutes"
"Miracle Escape: Student Misses Fatal Air India Flight by Minutes"
A student's last-minute delay led to a remarkable escape from the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171, which claimed 241 lives.
Bhoomi Chauhan, a business administration student living in Bristol, faced a frustrating delay that changed her fate forever. After encountering heavy traffic en route to Ahmedabad airport, she arrived just 10 minutes after boarding for her Air India flight to London Gatwick was scheduled to commence. At 28, her hopes of returning home were dashed as airline staff assessed the situation and denied her boarding.
"My heart sank," she recalled, expressing her sense of anger and disappointment. Despite having checked in online for flight AI171, she was turned away when she arrived at the airport less than an hour before departure. The flight tragically lost all but one of its 241 passengers and crew when it crashed shortly after takeoff.
Chauhan was in Ahmedabad visiting family, traveling from Ankleshwar, approximately 201 kilometers south. Burdened by the congestion of city traffic, she lamented her decision to leave late, believing that an earlier start could have ensured her place on the ill-fated flight.
After leaving the airport in frustration, she was standing with her family discussing refund options when news broke that the plane had crashed, leading to an immense sense of relief mixed with grief. "This is totally a miracle for me," she shared with reporters, acknowledging how close she had come to tragedy.
The flight departed as scheduled but soon encountered severe difficulties, resulting in a loss of altitude and subsequent crash just thirty seconds in the air. Victims included a family from Gloucester, three members of another family from London, and a couple running a spiritual wellness center. As recovery efforts continued, investigations began to explore the causes of this tragic accident. Emergency teams worked tirelessly through the night to search for answers amid the wreckage.
As Chauhan contemplates the sequence of events that spared her life, she can't help but reflect on just how precarious fate can be in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
