‘I was in same flight 2 hours before': Man claims he flew on Air India Boeing 787-8 that later crashed
Akash Vatsa said he flew on the Air India Boeing 787-8 from Delhi to Ahmedabad hours before the plane crashed after it took off for London.
A man who flew from Delhi to Ahmedabad on Thursday has claimed that he was on the same Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft that, hours later, crashed while it took off for London.
"I was in the same d**n flight 2 hours before it took off from AMD. I came in this from DEL-AMD. Noticed unusual things in the place.Made a video to tweet to @airindia. I would want to give more details," said Akash Vatsa, entrepreneur, on X.
He also shared videos from inside the aircraft, saying the air-conditioning and in-flight entertainment system were not working inside the plane.
“We are almost about to taxi. But the AC is not working. Look at everyone. AC is not working at all. And as usual, the TV screens are not working. Not even the light is working. Is this what you are providing?” Vatsa said in the video he recorded.
The hugely viral post on X garnered over four million views in two hours.
In a separate post, Vatsa said he was not flying Air India back to Delhi on Thursday night.
HT.com cannot independently verify the authenticity of the claim. We have reached out to the X user. This report will be updated when they respond.
(Also Read: 'We’re just boarding’: British influencers on Air India flight shared update from Ahmedabad airport)
What happened to the Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft?
The Boeing aircraft, which could be seen losing altitude quickly, crashed in the Meghaninagar area near the Ahmedabad International Airport around 2 pm.
Air India confirmed that its flight AI171, from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, met with an accident today after take-off.
"The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals," the carrier said on X.
Several of the injured were rushed to the city's civil hospital.
Thick black smoke could be seen billowing for miles around in the visuals of the wreckage.
Emergency responders were engaged in rescue, evacuation, and firefighting operations.
(The moment passengers boarding another flight saw smoke from Air India crash in Ahmedabad. Video)
