It has been one year since India witnessed its worst plane crash - the Air India plane headed to London that went down shortly after take off from the Ahmedabad airport.
While the kin of the 260 victims continue to mourn the big loss, there's a boy in Gujarat who is not related to anyone who died, but continues to be haunted by what he saw and accidentally captured.
Aryan Asari, an 18-year-old Gujarat's Aravalli district, inadvertently played a big role in showing the world what happened to the AI-171 plane in its final moments. While he had pulled out his phone hoping to record a stunning clip of a flying plane, he ended up capturing its doom.
The disaster seems to have scarred Aryan for life, who is still not ready to board a plane.
How ‘Aeroplane boy’ accidentally captured crash
Aryan, now popular as the “Aeroplane Boy", was in Ahmedabad to visit his father Magan Asari who is retired Army soldier, on June 12, 2025, the ill-fated day the plane crashed. When he stood on the terrace of his father's home in Meghaninagar, he saw a plane flying at a low-level and thought of capturing the scene.
{{/usCountry}}Aryan, now popular as the “Aeroplane Boy", was in Ahmedabad to visit his father Magan Asari who is retired Army soldier, on June 12, 2025, the ill-fated day the plane crashed. When he stood on the terrace of his father's home in Meghaninagar, he saw a plane flying at a low-level and thought of capturing the scene.
{{/usCountry}}"I went to Ahmedabad for the first time and saw a plane from such a close distance. I took out my mobile phone and started recording because I wanted to show it to my friends back in the village," Aryan recalled during an interaction with news agency PTI.
"Suddenly, the plane started coming down and then crashed into a huge fireball. I was terrified. I had never imagined something like that could happen in front of my eyes," he added.
On June 15, three days after the fatal crash, Aryan had said that he thought the plane was going to land as the airport was nearby.
‘Another plane may crash if I record’
The experience affected Aryan to the point that he now thinks another plane will crash if he records its flight. "After that incident, I stopped filming aeroplanes on my mobile phone. Now I am scared that if I record a plane, it may also crash," he admitted. He even wishes to travel abroad someday, but says he doesn't have the courage to board a plane.
This day last year, Aryan had travelled to Ahmedabad from his native village in Meghraj taluka so his father could help him get textbooks after securing admission to Class 12. He has now cleared his exams and his ready to enter college.
Also Read: One year of Air India crash that killed 260: No cause, no closure
The video he filmed made soon him a sensation, both on social media and TV channels that called him for interviews, and in his village, where he is now popular as the “Aeroplane Boy”.
"When I came back to my village, everyone wanted to see the video. My friends told me that I had become famous," he said with a shy smile. "Recently, I went to attend a wedding and many people came up to me asking, 'Are you the same aeroplane boy?' I told them yes," Aryan said.
AI-171, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was en route from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed merely 32 seconds after takeoff on June 12, 2025. The tragedy left 260 people dead 229 passengers and 12 crew members on board, alongside 19 on the ground.