Thai singer Ruangsak James Loychusak, now 47, has opened up about surviving the 1998 Thai Airways crash that claimed 101 lives. In a startling twist, he recently learned that he had been seated in 11A, the same seat occupied by the only survivor of the recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad.
Plane Crash Survivors and the Shared Seat 11A
Ruangsak was aboard Thai Airways flight TG261 when it crashed into a swamp while attempting to land in Surat Thani. Out of all the passengers, only 45 survived. After seeing reports about the Air India incident, he was shocked to discover the seat number connection with the lone survivor, Ramesh Viswashkumar.
“The lone survivor of the plane crash in India was sitting in the same seat number as me, 11A. Goosebumps”, Loychusak wrote on Facebook.
The revelation brought back a wave of buried memories from the crash, something he had rarely spoken about in public before.
Ruangsak’s Struggles After the Thai Airways Crash
The crash left Ruangsak deeply traumatized. For ten years, he avoided flying altogether and became extremely anxious at even the sight of clouds.
“I avoided speaking to anyone and always stared outside the window, blocking anyone from closing it to maintain my sense of safety. If I saw dark clouds or a rainstorm outside, I would feel terrible, like I was in hell,” the MailOnline quoted him as saying.
He shared that the emotional scars lingered, along with strong sensory memories that he couldn’t shake.
“I can still remember the sounds, smells, and even the taste of the water in the swamp the plane crashed into. For a long time, I would keep the feelings to myself,” he added.
Confirmed Details and Emotional Reflections
Though Ruangsak no longer has his original boarding pass, media reports from the time confirmed his seat number as 11A. The link with the Air India survivor has made him reflect on how close life and death can be.
He offered his sympathies to those who lost loved ones in the recent crash and shared how surviving gave him a new sense of life and purpose.
He called his survival a “second life,” something that forever changed his view of the world.
Second Life After Survival in Seat 11A
This rare coincidence has reignited attention on seat 11A, now marked by two separate survival stories. For Ruangsak, it has been a reminder of his painful past and the unpredictability of fate.
Whether it was destiny or a chance occurrence, the seat has become a quiet symbol of life snatched from tragedy in both crashes.
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