The crash happened just weeks after the company cut a deal with the U.S. government to avoid taking criminal responsibility for a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

As the investigation continued Friday into the horrific Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash that killed at least 290 people, the sole survivor is doing well but is "psychologically disturbed."

Arjun Patoliya had travelled to India to hold a funeral for his wife Bharti. After fulfilling his wife’s dying wish to scatter her ashes in Gujarat, Mr Patoliya boarded the Air India flight to Gatwick to return home to his two daughters, aged four and eight.

With all eyes on the sole survivor of Air India Flight 171, aviation insiders say that in an air catastrophe, “all bets are off” and seat choice matters little.

Viswashkumar Ramesh, 40, the sole survivor of Air India Flight 171, is among the ranks of those spared by fate.