Sole survivors: How people live through plane crashes that kill everyone else
Share and Follow

The world was shocked by the plane crash in India that killed hundreds.

Vishwash Kumar Ramesh was somehow thrown clear when the Air India flight exploded and split in two.

Even more remarkably, Ramesh was able to walk away from the crash with only minor injuries.

It seems like an unthinkable fluke, but Ramesh is not the first person to survive a plane crash through bizarre and surprising circumstances.

Here are some other remarkable plane crash survival stories.

Eighty people were killed in what was then the world’s worst air disaster in 1950.

The plane stalled on landing at Llandow Aerodrome in Wales and broke into pieces on landing.

The Avro Tudor V had been stripped so more seats could be put on board for the trip to watch Wales play Ireland in a rugby international.

Two survivors sitting in the newly installed seats at the tail walked away from the crash unharmed.

The only other survivor was a passenger who was in the toilet as the plane landed. He spent four months in hospital.

The Llandow plane crash was the deadliest in world history up to that point. (South Wales Police)

The chances of surviving a mid-air plane explosion are so small that it is almost beyond comprehension.

Flying over the Amazon rainforest on Christmas Eve, 1971, a Lockheed L-188A flew into a dark cloud and was struck by lightning.

“Suddenly the noise stopped and I was outside the plane. I was in a freefall, strapped to my seat bench and hanging head-over-heels.

“The whispering of the wind was the only noise I could hear.”

Juliane Koepcke was the German teenager who was the sole survivor of the crash of LANSA Flight 508 in the Peruvian rainforest. Kopcke followed a stream for nine days until she found a shelter where a lumberman was able to help her get the rest of the way to civilization. She is shown here with some of her classmates as she returned to classes in Lima. (Bettmann Archive)

The teen blacked out as she was spinning uncontrollably to the ground, so it is not certain how she survived the landing.

But ploughing through more than 30m of the thick leaves and branches of the Amazon rainforest canopy had slowed her down enough that the final impact did not kill her.

The plane bombing survivor

When a briefcase bomb exploded on a Yugoslavian plane in 1972, 23 passengers and four crewmembers were sucked out of the wreckage. The chances of any surviving were surely zero.

She fell from a distance of ten kilometres up – no one has ever fallen from that high without a parachute and survived.

An explosion in the baggage department split the plane into several pieces, sucking the passengers and other flight crew out of the plane.

Vesna Vulovic became a national hero following her incredible survival story.
Vesna Vulovic became a national hero following her incredible survival story. (Supplied)

But Vulovic was pinned in the fuselage by a food cart, keeping her in place as it fell to the ground.

Her section of the aircraft landed at an angle on a snowy mountainside in then-Czechoslovakia.

The trees and the snow, as well as the angle of the mountain, made for a softer landing.

Bahia Bakari was a 12-year-old returning from a wedding when the Yemen Airways plane she was in crashed into the Indian Ocean in 2009.

Clinging to wreckage in the pitch black, Bakari remembered hearing cries for help from other passengers.

But when help finally arrived 11 hours later, she was the only one still alive.

Bahia Bakari, the sole survivor of Yemenia Flight 626, an Airbus A310 that crashed into the sea off the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros, walks out during a break in the trial in Paris, France. (AP) (AP)

Bakari suffered a broken collarbone, a broken hip, burns and other injuries.

But she had no lasting physical injuries.

When Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashed on landing after a bird strike in December last year, the only survivors were two flight attendants seated at the rear of the plane.

The crash split the fuselage, separating where the attendants were sitting from the remainder of the plane.

But despite the old adage, the rear is not necessarily the safest part of the plane.

The wreckage of a Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air lies at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The wreckage of a Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air. (AP)

“There isn’t any data that shows a correlation of seating to survivability,” says Hassan Shahidi, president of the Flight Safety Foundation said after the crash.

“Every accident is different.”

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
PM leads charm offensive as Wallabies clash with Fiji

Prime Minister takes on a friendly approach as Wallabies face off against Fiji

They are neighbours, friends and in many cases family, but now the…
Man hit by police car in Darlinghurst

Police car hits man during response to fight in Sydney

A 35-year-old man was hit after running onto William Street in Darlinghurst…
Concerns grow for former Sydney society 'It' girl and celebrity stylist Kelly Smythe after she was accused of shocking forgery scam

Growing Concern for Celebrity Stylist Kelly Smythe Following Accusations of an Alarming Forgery Scam

Friends of Sydney socialite and stylist Kelly Smythe are growing concerned in…

Dozens of people, including over 20 kids, tragically die in Texas floods during ongoing search efforts

Key Points The death toll from catastrophic floods in Texas has reached…

PM denounces synagogue attack as police uncover additional incident

Victoria Police has not declared an arson attack at a Melbourne synagogue…
Desperate search for 27 missing girls after flood disaster

Search Intensifies for 27 Missing Girls Following Flood Catastrophe

At least 51 people, including 15 children, were killed, with most of…
Tammy Hembrow leaves fans confused as she's seen wearing her diamond wedding ring following split from husband Matt Zukowski

Tammy Hembrow wears wedding ring after breakup with Matt Zukowski – causing confusion among fans

Tammy Hembrow is heading for divorce after splitting from her husband of…
Crew abandons ship in Red Sea after 'drone boat' attack

Crew leaves ship in Red Sea following a drone boat assault

Crew members aboard a Liberian-flagged ship set ablaze by a series of…