A 29-year-old Dutch cyclist has dodged death twice by changing his reservation for both Malaysian Airline flights that crashed, and he is scheduled to take another flight with the airline in the near future.
Maarten de Jonge, who competes for Malaysia's Terengganu Cycling Team, was scheduled to fly on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was allegedly shot out of the sky while on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, the Huffington Post reported. The crash killed about 300 people. At the last minute the lucky man switched to a cheaper flight.
Soon after the crash Jonge tweeted "Had I departed today, then..."
Jonge was also planning to fly on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which is believed to have disappeared over the Indian Ocean on March 8. He changed his flight plans while on a layover in Beijing, but said he spoke with passengers of the flight while in the airport. The flight was carrying 298 passengers, who all disappeared with it, the Daily Mail reported.
"I could have taken that one just as easily," de Jonge said in an interview with Dutch public broadcaster RTV Oost, the Huffington Post reported. "It's inconceivable. I am very sorry for the passengers and their families, yet I am very pleased I'm unharmed."
Despite his two close calls, Jonge plans to take another flight with Malaysia Airlines this week, and doesn't seem to be in fear of his life, the Daily Mail reported.
"I have been lucky twice, that's the third time as well," de Jonge reportedly told the Netherlands station RTV Oost, the Daily Mail reported.
Jonge said his story is not important compared with those of the victims' families.
"What has happened is terrible, so many victims, that's a horrible thing,' de Jonge wrote in a statement translated from Dutch," the Daily Mail reported.
