Man Has Narrowly Escaped Both Malaysia Air Tragedies

Maarten de Jonge was booked on both flights, changed ticket at last minute
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 19, 2014 4:03 PM CDT
Man Has Narrowly Escaped Both Malaysia Air Tragedies
Malaysian Airlines ground crew loads cargo into a Malaysia Airline plane on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Saturday, July 19, 2014.   (AP Photo/Joshua Paul)

Maarten de Jonge is a lucky man—two times over. The Dutch cyclist had a ticket for not only Thursday's doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, but also the still-missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Both times, ABC News reports, de Jonge changed his flight at the last minute. The 29-year-old confirmed, via a statement on his website, that he was originally scheduled on Thursday's flight, but notes, "my story is ultimately nothing compared to the misery in which so many people are paid. ... What has happened is terrible, so many victims." (Meanwhile, one woman lost family members—on both doomed planes.)

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