Woman recalls how her parents missed their flight only to realize it was the best decision of their lives

Have you ever had all your perfectly made plans get changed at the last moment due to whatever reasons, resulting in you feeling upset? But then eventually, as time passed, you realized that what happened was actually for the best. Something similar, but on a much grander scale, happened to the parents of a woman on TikTok. In a video, Anna Noel (@annanoellll) posted recently, she spoke about how her parents missed a flight that ended up crashing, killing all the people on board.

Noel says, "My parents were supposed to be on a flight that every single passenger died on." She adds that it was flight 261 from Puerto Vallarta, which would be stopping in San Francisco before eventually going to Seattle. Before starting her story, she also took a moment to share her heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives on the flight. She then explains that her parents would go to Mexico quite often since they were considering moving there. However, on the morning of the flight to go to Mexico, her mother fell extremely sick out of nowhere. Despite assuming it to be anxiety and brushing it off for a while, the sickness persisted. There were no refunds available if they cancelled their flight and her father wasn't keen on missing their flight either. However, seeing just how unwell his wife was, he was left with no choice but to miss the flight.

Noel says, "I'm sure my dad was probably a little bit annoyed, but soon he would be very thankful on January 31st, 2000." That was because the flight they had booked to come back home on January 31, 2000, crashed terribly, resulting in the deaths of all the 88 people on board. As shocking as this news was, this wasn't even the most shocking part of this whole story. Eventually, Noel's mother realized that the real reason for her sickness was not anxiety; it was morning sickness on account of her being pregnant.

However, that's when Noel reveals something. She says, "I'm an only child, though." That means that her mother was pregnant with another child back then, whom she ended up losing. However, it was almost like the child existed to ensure that nothing bad happened to the couple. In Noel's words, "That baby's purpose was to save my mom and my dad's life." And isn't that the most beautiful thing ever? Noel ended her video on an empowering note, saying, "This is your reminder if you're feeling down or you're running late or if something happens to disrupt plans you already had—maybe it's for a reason."

The comment section was full of people referring to this as the Burnt Toast Theory and rightly so. @dejarussell__ said, "Burnt toast theory! Anytime something inconvenient happens to me I try to thank the universe instead. It’s all a part of the plan." @realbrittanydawn said, "If this is Alaska Airlines flight 261, my dad was supposed to be the pilot of that flight. He got sick and couldn’t fly. Scariest day of our life." It was the best miracle ever and may such a miracle keep happening to anyone and everyone who needs it.

You can follow Anna Noel (@annanoellll) for interesting insights and content.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 11, 2023. It has since been updated.