There have been cases of a very small number of survivors in very serious accidents, but it is "very rare" for there to be only one, a professor told Newsweek.

The survival of a passenger who escaped through an exit door seconds after his Air India flight crashed killing everyone else on board has prompted speculation over whether his seat, 11A, is the safest.

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.