From Goodbyes to a Missed Departure: The Lives Changed by AI171

A Delayed Taxi Ride Saved Her Life

Bhoomi Chauhan planned to board Air India flight AI171 on Thursday. The 32-year-old from Bharuch had flown home to India for a brief holiday and was on her way back to London, where she lives with her husband. But traffic on the roads of Ahmedabad delayed her arrival at the airport by just ten minutes — and ultimately saved her life.

“The flight was scheduled to depart at 1.10pm. Boarding closed by 12.10pm, and I reached at 12.20,” Bhoomi recounted. “I pleaded with airport staff to let me board, said I’d rush through the formalities. But they said it was too late.”

Upset at being turned away, Bhoomi was about to leave the terminal when news broke that AI171 had crashed moments after takeoff. “I began to tremble. I couldn’t process what had happened,” she said.

The crash, which occurred just 36 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, claimed 241 lives. Only one passenger, 40-year-old Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the fiery accident.

The Only Survivor

Ramesh, a British-Indian citizen, was returning to the UK after visiting family in Gujarat. He had been seated in 11A. He told his family that a loud sound occurred immediately after the plane took off. Suffering from chest injuries, he remains hospitalised.

Authorities say the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner lost lift seconds after departure and plunged into a residential building in the Meghaninagar area, erupting in flames. The pilot sent out a Mayday emergency signal. A government-ordered probe is underway, with officials considering engine failure or bird strike as potential causes.

A Daughter’s First Flight Abroad, Now Her Last

Among the victims was 24-year-old Payal Khatik, an MTech aspirant from Himatnagar. Her father, a loading rickshaw driver, took loans to fund her overseas studies. Payal was the first in her family to travel abroad.

She finished her BTech in Udaipur and was going to London to chase her dream.

“We’re devastated,” her cousin Bharat Chauhan said.

Payal had also worked as a private tutor to support her family. A family friend, Sushila Pathak, described her as “a very good girl” who helped teach her son until just weeks before she left.
Now, the same education that gave her family hope has left them buried in grief and debt.

A Family’s Smiling Farewell, Now a Haunting Memory

Another family lost in the tragedy was that of Dr Komi Vyas and Dr Prateek Joshi. The couple, along with their three young children — twin boys aged five and an eight-year-old daughter — had boarded the flight for a new life in London. Dr Vyas recently left her job in Udaipur to join her husband, who had relocated to the UK earlier.

A photo taken minutes before takeoff — a smiling selfie with their children — has since circulated online, offering a painful glimpse into the final moments of a young family full of promise.

“They were excited to start fresh,” said Dr Joshi’s cousin. “None of us could imagine this would be our last goodbye.”

“Goodbye India”: British Tourists’ Final Message

In one of the most widely shared clips tied to the tragedy, British tourist Jamie Meek, a London-based yoga enthusiast, posted a short Instagram video from the airport just hours before boarding AI171. “Goodbye India…,” he said, smiling into the camera beside Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek, his partner.

The couple had just wrapped up a “magical” trip to Gujarat, and Jamie had posted an emotional reflection the night before, calling the journey a “mind-blowing experience.” Their final post has since gone viral, with social media users expressing heartbreak over the tragic timing and the couple’s presumed deaths.

They were among dozens of British passengers returning home after travels across India. Many had shared similar sentiments of spiritual renewal and peace in the days before the crash.

Unanswered Questions, Unimaginable Loss

Though investigators have retrieved the aircraft’s black box, the exact cause of the crash remains unknown. Experts suggest the crash may have resulted from dual engine failure or a sudden loss of thrust. The investigation focuses on the aircraft’s failure to gain altitude.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the tragedy as heartbreaking and expressed the nation’s support for the victims’ families.

For Bhoomi Chauhan, who narrowly escaped the tragedy, the relief is tangled with survivor’s guilt. And for families like Payal’s, Jamie’s, and the Vyas-Joshi children’s grandparents, no investigation or explanation will fill the empty space left behind.

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