Heart-Wrenching Revelation: The First Video of Ahmedabad Air India AI-171 Crash – A Child’s Innocent Footage Captures a National Tragedy

In the quiet neighborhood of Meghani Nagar, Ahmedabad, a young boy named Aaryan, a 12th-grade student from a remote village in Gujarat’s Aravalli district, stood on a rooftop with his phone in hand on June 12, 2025. He was excited, eager to capture a video of a plane taking off from the nearby Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to show his friends back home. Little did he know that his innocent act of recording would immortalize one of India’s most devastating aviation disasters—the crash of Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which claimed 241 lives in a fiery explosion just moments after takeoff. Aaryan’s raw, unfiltered footage, filled with his trembling voice and naive disbelief, has become the haunting first glimpse of a tragedy that has shattered a nation. But beyond the video lies a deeper story of fear, loss, and unanswered questions, as conspiracy theories swirl and a grieving country demands justice.

A Child’s Innocent Lens on a Catastrophe

It was around 1:39 PM on that fateful day when Aaryan, who had arrived in Ahmedabad just an hour earlier, climbed onto the rooftop of a rented house in Saraswati Nagar with his younger sister and a few neighbors. The airport, a mere 800-1000 meters away, was a source of fascination for this village boy who had never seen a plane so close before. “I wanted to show my friends in the village how planes fly so near here,” he later explained, his voice still shaky with trauma. As he pointed his phone camera toward the runway, capturing the distant lights of the airport, he spotted the Air India AI-171 beginning its ascent. His excitement was palpable in the video as he narrated, “Look, it’s flying so close! Maybe it’s an Akasa Air plane. It just took off!”

But within seconds, his tone shifted from wonder to confusion. “Why is it so low? How did it come down like this?” he can be heard saying in the background of the footage. The plane, meant to soar gracefully into the sky en route to London, wobbled unnaturally, its movements erratic as if caught in an invisible struggle. Aaryan’s camera followed its descent, capturing the horrifying moment when the aircraft, just 600 feet above ground and 2.5 kilometers from the runway, plummeted into the IGP Compound area of Meghani Nagar. A deafening blast echoed through the neighborhood as a massive fireball erupted, engulfing the horizon in flames and black smoke. “It looked like a bomb exploded,” Aaryan later recalled, his eyes wide with terror. “I didn’t know what was happening. I thought it was landing near the airport.”

The raw footage, timestamped at exactly 1:39 PM on June 12, 2025, shows the plane’s final moments through the innocent lens of a child who couldn’t comprehend the scale of the disaster unfolding before him. As the fire raged in the distance, Aaryan recorded additional clips of the smoke and chaos, his voice trembling with fear. “I’ve never seen anything like this. How could this happen?” he muttered to his sister, who stood beside him, equally stunned. Back on the ground, neighbors like Kailash Ben Bhikhaji Thakur, who had seen the plane wobbling even before the crash, felt a chilling premonition. “I told my family, this plane will fall. It was shaking so badly, like it was about to collapse,” she recounted, her hands trembling as she pointed to the nearby trees where the plane nearly struck before crashing further ahead.

A Video That Shook the Nation – And Sparked Conspiracy Theories

Aaryan’s video, initially sent to his father, Magan Bhai—a retired Indian Army officer now working as a supervisor—via WhatsApp, quickly spread beyond the family. Though Aaryan and his relatives hesitated to share it publicly out of fear and confusion, the footage somehow reached social media, becoming the first visual evidence of the AI-171 crash. As it went viral, it ignited a firestorm of speculation. How did a village boy know to record at the exact moment of the crash? Was someone behind the camera with prior knowledge of the disaster? Conspiracy theories exploded online, with some even suggesting the video was staged or that Aaryan was part of a larger plot. “People started asking how I knew this would happen,” Aaryan said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t know anything. I was just recording to show my friends.”

Journalist Abhinav Pandey from Lallan Top tracked down Aaryan to the very rooftop where the video was filmed, putting an end to the wild rumors. Standing in the same spot, with the airport lights visible in the distance, Pandey interviewed the shy, frightened boy who was still reeling from the experience. “I’m scared now. I don’t think I’ll ever sit in a plane after seeing this,” Aaryan admitted, his dream of flying replaced by a haunting nightmare. His sister, three years younger, nodded in agreement, her eyes reflecting the same fear. “We used to think flying would be exciting. Now, it just feels terrifying,” she whispered. The innocence of their childhood had been shattered in a matter of seconds, replaced by a trauma that may never fade.

A Near Miss for a Densely Populated Area

The crash site, just a stone’s throw from where Aaryan stood, could have been even more catastrophic. Meghani Nagar and its surrounding areas, including Omkar Nagar Corner, are densely populated, with homes, shops, and bustling streets packed close together. Had the plane fallen just a few hundred meters earlier, the death toll on the ground would have been unimaginable. “If it crashed here, so many more would have died,” said Shubham Gupta, a local resident who witnessed the aftermath from his rooftop. “We heard the blast, ran up, and saw black smoke everywhere. It was like the end of the world.” Further ahead, a mere 1.2 kilometers away, stands a 1,200-bed civil hospital—a potential target if the plane had veered slightly off course. Instead, it struck the IGP Compound, still causing devastating casualties as the fireball consumed everything within a 400-500 meter radius, including nearby shops and residences of senior MD resident doctors’ families.

The scale of the disaster is staggering. Official numbers are yet to be confirmed, but early reports suggest 241 passengers and crew perished, including prominent figures like former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Among the victims were families, children, and international doctors, their lives snuffed out in an instant. Witnesses described the scene as apocalyptic, with body parts unrecognizable amidst the charred wreckage. “When we go to the hospital, there are no bodies left to identify—just ashes,” Pandey noted in his coverage, his voice heavy with emotion. “How do you console families when there’s nothing left to bury?”

A Nation’s Grief and a Call for Answers

The crash of Air India AI-171 marks one of the darkest chapters in Indian aviation history. Unlike previous tragedies during landing, such as the Kochi tabletop runway incidents where survivors emerged, or the mid-air collision at Charkhi Dadri that killed over 300, this disaster occurred during takeoff—a rare and horrifying event in India. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, celebrated for its fuel efficiency and safety record with no prior crash history, was carrying nearly 1,300 liters of fuel, contributing to the massive explosion upon impact. How could a plane deemed the “safest” fail so catastrophically just moments after leaving the runway?

As investigators recover the black boxes and probe the wreckage for clues, the nation’s focus shifts beyond Aaryan’s video to the root causes of this tragedy. Was it pilot error, as the plane struggled at a mere 600 feet—far below the required altitude? Was it a technical failure in the aircraft’s systems, a recurring concern with Boeing given past whistleblower exposés of manufacturing shortcuts? Or does the blame lie with Air India, an airline notorious for safety lapses and inadequate maintenance, as evidenced by recent suspensions of officials for falsifying compliance reports? And what of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), whose lenient penalties—capped at ₹1 crore even for severe violations—pale in comparison to international standards like the US FAA’s multi-billion-dollar fines?

A Child’s Trauma Mirrors a Nation’s Pain

Aaryan, now a reluctant symbol of this tragedy, embodies the innocence lost on that fateful day. From a boy dreaming of showing his friends the marvel of flight, he has become a witness to unimaginable horror, his video a permanent scar on his memory. “I told my father everything when he came home. I couldn’t believe it happened while I was recording,” he said, his voice breaking. His father, Magan Bhai, a stoic ex-army man, could offer little comfort beyond a reassuring nod. The family, hailing from the picturesque tribal hills of Aravalli, now grapples with a fear that extends beyond their personal loss of innocence to a national crisis of trust in aviation safety.

As Pandey concluded his emotional coverage, standing on the same rooftop where Aaryan’s video was born, another plane—an IndiGo flight—took off in the distance, climbing safely into the night sky. The irony was not lost on anyone. “This is the hardest story I’ve covered in 10 years of journalism,” Pandey admitted, his voice thick with sorrow. “How do you report on grief so raw, on bodies turned to ash, on families with nothing left to mourn?” His plea to the government and aviation authorities echoed the sentiments of millions: ensure such a tragedy never happens again. The compensation of ₹1 crore per victim feels like a cruel insult to the lives lost, especially for prominent passengers for whom money means nothing compared to the void left behind.

A Cry for Justice Amidst the Ashes

The story of Air India AI-171 is not just about a plane crash; it’s about systemic failures, shattered dreams, and a nation’s desperate cry for accountability. Aaryan’s video, once a source of conspiracy, now stands as a heartbreaking testament to an accident no one could predict but everyone must prevent from recurring. As the investigation unfolds, questions linger: What will the black boxes reveal about those final moments? Will Air India and Boeing face true consequences, or will they hide behind meager fines and PR spin? And most importantly, how many more lives must be lost before India’s skies are truly safe?

For now, Aaryan’s words haunt us all: “I’m scared. I’ll never fly after seeing this.” His fear mirrors a nation’s trauma, a collective wound that will not heal until justice is served. As the smoke clears over Meghani Nagar, the memory of 241 souls lost in a fiery inferno demands answers. This is not just a tragedy—it’s a warning. Will we heed it before the next plane falls from the sky? Heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families. May their loss ignite the change we so desperately need.