The crash of London-bound Air India flight 171 in Ahmedabad dominates the Friday headlines. The Sun leads with the “miracle Brit in seat 11A”, the seat of Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a father from Leicester who was the only survivor of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash which killed all the other 241 passengers and crew on board.
The Daily Telegraph also leads with the “miracle of seat 11A”, and says the crash – in which 52 Britons died – is the UK’s worst air disaster since 1985. Experts suggest the crash could have been caused by engine failure, bird strike, or a problem with the position of the wing, the paper reports.
“Miracle of seat 11A” is also the lead for the Daily Star, which reports that Mr Ramesh’s family said “he had no idea how he walked away from the wreckage”.
Mr Ramesh survived the crash “against all odds”, says the Daily Mirror, which shows a photo of him walking away from the disaster scene.
The “miracle” of seat 11A also fronts the Daily Express.
The worst aviation disaster in more than a decade will pile “new pressure… on Boeing”, writes the Financial Times. It is the first crash of the Boeing 787 model since it entered service in 2011, but comes as the company has tried to “rebuild trust” following two fatal crashes of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
The Times reports on the crash’s “sole survivor” as well as other victims, including a family from Northamptonshire, and a couple and their two young children from Gloucester. King Charles III said he was “desperately shocked” by the disaster, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was “heartbreaking”.
Metro also leads with Mr Ramesh, who the paper reports “appeared dazed and startled” as he was led away from the disaster scene by police. Mr Ramesh’s brother was also on board and is believed to be among the 241 other passengers who died.
“British man walks away from crash that kills hundreds,” is the lead for the i Paper, which writes that the victims included 169 Indians, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. Dozens more were killed on the ground when the crash sent a “huge fireball” into the sky.
A photo of Mr Ramesh’s boarding pass, with seat 11A circled, is on the front page of the Daily Mail. The paper reports he called his family after he “emerged limping from the smouldering wreck” and told them: “I don’t know how I’m alive.”
The aircraft smashed into a hostel housing “medical students, doctors and their families”, reports the Guardian.
