How traffic jam saved Ahmedabad woman from deadly Air India plane crash

An Ahmedabad woman narrowly avoided tragedy when a traffic delay caused her to miss boarding the Air India flight that later crashed, killing 241 people.

Bhoomi Chauhan was on her way to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Gujarat to catch Flight AI-171 to London when she was caught in a traffic snarl that ultimately saved her life. She arrived at the airport just ten minutes too late to board the aircraft.

According to Mail Online, the missed flight proved to be a fateful twist of events. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 242 passengers—53 of them British nationals—plummeted shortly after takeoff, crashing into the densely populated Meghani area of the city around 1:40 p.m. local time (8:10 a.m. BST). Only one person survived the devastating accident.

Chauhan described the moment she learned of the crash, which occurred not long after she was denied entry at the boarding gate.

“I shivered badly and my legs started shaking,” she told local media.

CCTV footage captured the horrifying final moments as the aircraft appeared to lose control mid-air, its nose pitched upward and landing gear extended, before it slammed into the ground.

Chauhan had been in India for a vacation, while her husband stayed behind in London. The trauma of her narrow escape left her deeply shaken.

“My mind went numb,” she said, recalling the moment she received confirmation of the crash before making her way back home.