'It was flying too low, wanted to show my friends': Teen who casually filmed Air India crash, thought plane would land

NEW DELHI: Seventeen-year-old Aryan Ansari was on the terrace of a building near Ahmedabad airport, casually filming planes to show his friends. What he ended up recording was the moment Air India’s Dreamliner 787-8 crashed and burst into flames, footage that has since gone viral across the country.“I came here on June 12. The plane was passing from very close, so I thought of shooting a video to show to my friends,” Aryan recalled. “The plane went downwards, and I thought it was going to land as the airport was nearby. But then flames started shooting up, I saw that it had exploded. I was scared. I showed the video to my sister. I also told my father about it.”Aryan was attempting to capture a regular flight in action, unaware that he would end up filming one of the deadliest aviation accidents in recent memory.Flight AI 171, bound for London, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport on the afternoon of June 12. Of the 242 people on board, only one person survived. Among the deceased was former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani.Aryan’s video, which shows the aircraft descending rapidly and then engulfed in flames, is being widely circulated and has become a crucial record of the final moments of the ill-fated flight.

Meanwhile, authorities have begun the grim task of identifying the charred remains of the victims. Ahmedabad Civil Hospital is relying on DNA and blood samples provided by relatives to match and release the bodies.“The bodies of 31 DNAs have been matched. 12 bodies have been handed over to their respective family members,” said Dr Rajnish Patel, Additional Medical Superintendent of the hospital. “We are waiting for others to come and collect the remains of their relatives.”