The seat no one wants… but that saved a life: the mysterious Air India flight 11A

Frustrated and tearful at the gate, she watched the plane taxi away without her.

Four hours later, news broke: Air India Flight 11A had made an emergency landing in Istanbul after a sudden drop in cabin pressure. Oxygen masks were deployed. Several passengers suffered from severe hypoxia. Among them? The man who had taken Priya’s seat at the last minute—a standby passenger named Mr. Deepak Mehta.

He was the only person on board who lost consciousness and had to be resuscitated mid-air.

Doctors later revealed he had a previously undiagnosed heart condition. The rapid decompression had triggered a near-fatal cardiac episode. He survived, thanks to a doctor on board and a defibrillator in the cabin.

But what chilled many wasn’t just the incident—it was the seat. Once again, 11A had become the center of a story no one could quite explain.

Coincidence? Or Something More?
The tale of Seat 11A caught fire online. Some said it was nothing more than coincidence—statistics and selective memory. Others claimed it was cursed. Conspiracy theorists even suggested a design flaw in that particular seat’s wiring or oxygen delivery system, though Air India strongly denied any technical issues.

What’s certain is this: Priya, the woman who missed her flight, later told reporters, “I cried so hard when I saw the plane leave without me. I thought the universe was punishing me. I had no idea it was saving me.”

The Seat That Became a Symbol
Today, Seat 11A on that specific route is rarely booked. Some passengers avoid it. Others specifically request it, drawn by the strange magnetism of near-death and second chances.
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