SEAT 1C: A SURVIVORS’S TALE OF HOPE, RESILIENCE AND RENEWAL

Category Biographies & Memoirs
Format Hardback
Imprint Rupa
Price 695

ISBN: 978-93-6156-098-9
Pages: 232 pages
Date: 5th March 2025

ABOUT THIS BOOK

On 22 May 2020, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashed in a suburb of Karachi, Pakistan, and burst into flames, claiming the lives of 98 people. A mind-bending series of fortunate incidents allowed Zafar Masud to emerge as one of just two survivors. Seat 1C is his raw and gripping account of that fatal day, interwoven with testimonies from the only other survivor, Masud’s heroic rescuers, and key eyewitnesses.
In the months following the crash, Masud manages to piece together an account of frightful mismanagement leading to the accident, while grappling with the shock and weight of survival, and embarking on a painful journey of physical recovery. His story is not just about surviving a plane crash but also about embracing a second chance at life with newfound wisdom and gratitude. He imparts these lessons to the reader, offering insights into overcoming adversity and finding strength in the face of unimaginable challenges.
Seat 1C is a poignant, heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting story of reflection, survival and the enduring human spirit.

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

Zafar Masud is a development and social impact-focused banker, entrepreneur and public sector expert with over 30 years of proven success stories in banking, development finance, energy and corporate governance within Pakistan and abroad. He has served as a board member of many prestigious institutions, including The Bank of Punjab (President & CEO); Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (Chairman); Pakistan Banks’ Association (Chairman); State Bank of Pakistan; InfraZamin Pakistan; Islamabad Policy Research Institute; National Institute of Business & Finance; Curriculum Committee of Beaconhouse National University; and Advisory Board of School of Business Studies of Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
In May 2020, he miraculously survived the PK8303 airplane crash in Karachi. This life-changing moment propelled him to create even more exceptional success stories. He was decorated with one of the highest civil award of Hungary in August 2021 and featured—the only one outside the Western Hemisphere—in Master Mentors Volume 2 as one of the 30 greatest minds with transformative insights by bestselling author Scott Jeffrey Miller. A regular contributor to local and international media, he is also a TED Talks speaker and the author of Out of the Box—a collection of his op-ed pieces and presentations.