India, June 12 -- One year ago, Air India Flight 171 fell out of the sky barely 30 seconds after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and others on the ground. HT reporter, among the first journalists at the scene, spent that afternoon at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital - and met the man in seat 11A. An account:

I was in Gandhinagar on the morning of June 12, 2025, waiting outside a senior government official's office for a meeting. His staff had asked me to wait a few minutes. While I waited, a news alert flashed on my phone about a plane crash in Ahmedabad. My editor called, and I told him I was heading to the scene. In that moment, the official's PA came out and said, 'I could go in.' I apologised and rushed out.

As I left, I t...