One Year After Air India Crash, Visuals Still Haunt ‘Aeroplane Boy’ Who Filmed Final Moments Of Disaster

Last Updated:June 12, 2026, 14:43 IST

The Aeroplane Boy: schoolboy who filmed the ill-fated Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad. Now, he fears boarding or even filming a plane. How did he become aeroplane boy?

One year after the Air India crash that killed 260 people in Gujarat’s Ahmedadbad, the boy who accidently filmed that incident on a phone says fear still haunts him. Aryan Asari, an 18-year-old from Gujarat’s Aravalli district had filmed the tragedy from the terrace of an apartment that his father was renting in the city.

After the video he had filmed went viral, people in his village, surrounding areas, and social media began calling him the ‘Aeroplane Boy’. Today, he says he is afraid of boarding or even filming a passing plane out of fear that it might crash, as per a report by PTI.

Aryan was just another schoolboy from a remote village in Gujarat’s Aravalli district. He had never seen an aircraft. He filmed the final moments of the Air India plane that crashed seconds after taking off in Ahmedabad on this day last year.

On June 12, 2025, the Air India flight crashed 32 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport. In the tragic crash, 260 people were killed, of whom 19 were on the ground. Nobody onboard, except one, survived.

“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," he said, as quoted in the report.

How The Incident Unfolded Before Him

When he saw the ill-fated AI171, Aryan was fascinated by the sight of the aircraft, which was flying so low. He was standing on the terrace of a rented accommodation in Ahmedabad’s Meghaninagar, where his father was staying. His father works as a security guard at a metro station in the city. He is also a retired army soldier.

Fascinated, Aryan took out a phone to capture the moment on camera. Though it began as a casual video, it turned into one of the most viral clips of the disaster.

“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 said.

The ‘Aeroplane Boy’

A school-going young man, Aryan, had arrived in the old and historic city of Ahmedabad on the morning of June 12, 2025. He had come to meet and spend time with his father, Magan Asari. He also planned on getting some textbooks since he had been admitted to the 12th standard.

However, he became witness to one of India’s worst aviation disasters within hours of coming to the city. The video he captured was widely circulated over social media and television channels.

Soon after the video went viral, Aryan’s face was across all channels on TV, giving interviews. Mediapersons were crowding his father’s rented house.

Life After Accidental Virality

When, a few days later, he returned to his native village – Meghraj Taluka in Aravalli district – he continued to study. Eventually, he cleared his 12th standard board examination and is currently seeking admission in a college.

His identity has changed for the people permanently, although life does seem to have returned to normal.

“When I came back to my village, everyone wanted to see the video. My friends told me that I had become famous," with a shy smile, he said, as reported by PTI.

“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.

He experiences lingering fears even a year after the tragedy.

“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 said.

The fear is not restricted to the camera lens alone. Aryan is not unlike so many of the Gujarati youth. He also dreams of travelling to another country someday. However, it is the prospect of flying that is proving to be daunting for him.

“I want to go abroad in the future, but right now I don’t have the courage to sit inside an aeroplane," he said.

News india One Year After Air India Crash, Visuals Still Haunt ‘Aeroplane Boy’ Who Filmed Final Moments Of Disaster

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