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Patterns in the Sky. Why Seat 11A Became a Legend – and What It Tells Us About the Human Mind?
A coincidence that went viral
On 12 June 2025 Air India Flight 171 crashed just seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad. Of the 242 people on board, only one passenger survived: British-Indian businessman Vishwash Kumar Ramesh in seat 11A. News outlets were quick to christen the episode a “miracle”Â
Within hours, commentators noticed an eerie echo: in 1998 Thai Airways Flight TG 261 also counted a survivor in 11A – singer Ruangsak Loychusak – though 44 other passengers lived as well.
Two catastrophes, 27 years apart, two men walking away from the same seat number. A myth was born.
Why our brains chase patterns
Humans are spectacular pattern-spotters. When faced with chaos, we try to impose order – a process neuroscientists call apophenia (Brugger 2001). Michael Shermer describes this as “patternicity” – our tendency to find meaningful connections in random data (Shermer 2008).
Evolutionarily it makes sense: seeing a pattern in rustling grass (“Maybe that’s a predator”) was safer tha...
Author
Aleksandra Kapela
I’m Aleksandra Kapela — an aviation psychologist, human factors specialist, and certified ground instructor with over a decade of experience in pilot assessment, training, human factors and well-being. I work with flight schools, airlines, and training organizations to improve pilot selection, support, and development — especially through CBTA, psychometrics, and human factors integration. I’m also a speaker at global conferences. Through MyWingman.eu, I offer practical resources for pilots, airlines and flight schools — including assessments, well-being programs, and consultancy. On this blog, I share psychological insights that help aviation professionals perform, stay safe, and thrive — on the ground and in the sky.
