After a fatal plane crash in Brazil that killed 61 people, one person was lucky. The Voepass Airlines flight had 61 people on board at the time of the crash, including 57 passengers and 4 crew members.

But the stars aligned for one person who was supposed to take that fateful two-hour flight. Adriano Assis, a resident of Rio de Janeiro, said there was a “mix-up at the airport” that caused him to miss the flight that caused the accident.

Assis arrived late at the airport after finishing his shift at a local hospital.

In conversation with Brazilian news agencies TV GlobeAssis said he arrived at the check-in counter at 9:40 a.m. but missed the flight from Cascavel to Guarulhos due to a mix-up at the airport.

When Assis learned of the crash, he thanked airport staff and hugged the officer who had prevented him from boarding the plane.

“I got here at 9:40 a.m., the gate was closed, but the flight was leaving. I was working at Toledo Regional Hospital. When I got there, I waited to see if they were open. There’s usually always someone at the counter, but there was no one,” he said.

“I stayed up there, drank my coffee and waited. The microphone said nothing, the display boards said nothing about the flight. When I came down, it was half past ten, there was a huge queue,” he added.

Assis said he waited and when it was about 10:41 a.m., the man said he would not board the plane. “At that point, I argued with him and so on, and that was it. He saved my life. I hug him because he did his job. If he hadn’t done his job, I might not be doing this interview today.”

This man was denied access to the plane that had just crashed in Vinhedo, São Paulo, Brazil, because he arrived too late.

He argued with the man at the gate, but eventually hugged him after hearing that the plane had crashed.

This is unbelievable… 🙏 pic.twitter.com/wrplK3lVr4

— Cillian (@CilComLFC) 9 August 2024