Who's the teen whose terrace video might help solve Air India crash mystery

Seventeen-year-old Aryan Asari was hoping to shoot a simple video of a plane flying overhead for his friends. Instead, what he captured was the fiery final moments of Air India’s Dreamliner 787-8, footage that went viral and could potentially aid investigators in piecing together what went wrong.

Aryan came to Ahmedabad on June 12 to visit his father, who had recently moved into a rented apartment in Meghaninagar, an area close to the airport.

After arriving at his father’s place around 12.30 pm on Thursday, a spot nestled between the airport and the crash site, he discovered that planes frequently flew low overhead, according to a PTI report.

Curious and excited, he climbed up to the terrace, hoping to catch a view he’d never experienced before. After lunch, he went up to the terrace with his sister and friend Raj Singh.

Fascinated by the aircraft flying overhead, Aryan began recording a video.

"The plane was passing from very close, so I thought of shooting a video, so I could show it to my friends. The plane went downwards, and I thought it was going to land as the airport was nearby," the teen told ANI.

"But when it went down, flames started coming up, and we saw that it had exploded. I was scared. I showed the video to my sister. I also told my father about it," said Asari.

The London-bound flight AI 171 had crashed less than a minute after take-off. "I’d never seen anything like that before," he added.

Of the 242 people onboard, 241 died, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Several others on the ground also died.

I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN AN AEROPLANE: GUJARAT TEEN

It wasn’t until later that the scale of what he had witnessed sank in.

"I couldn’t sleep that night," Aryan told The Indian Express. "When I saw the news and realised I had filmed the final moments of that plane, it hit me. I still can’t believe it.”

His family said the incident left him traumatised. The police called Aryan in for questioning and took his statement, recognising that his video could hold vital clues for the crash investigation.

For a teenager who had never seen a plane fly so low, the experience left a lasting mark. "I will never sit in an aeroplane," he said quietly.

The video he captured rapidly gained attention online, leading the Ahmedabad Crime Branch to summon him on June 14 to record his statement as a witness.

Following speculation that he had been detained, the police later issued a brief clarification that he had come to give a statement.

On Sunday morning, Kailashbhen Thakur, the landlady of the residence, shared Aryan Asari's ordeal with The Hindu.

"He had just arrived in the city for the first time. Within an hour, he witnessed something no one should ever see," she said. She mentioned that the incident had left the boy visibly disturbed, prompting his decision to return to his village and continue his education.

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