One year of AI 171 crash: The teen who filmed a tragedy, and can’t unsee it

Ahmedabad: They often say, destiny puts you in the right place at the right time. Seventeen-year-old Aryan Asari of Khanpur village in Aravalli, doesn’t agree, at least after what happened on June 12, 2025. Aryan’s first visit to Ahmedabad turned into an experience he would rather forget, but can’t.

Aryan was in the city to meet his father, Magan Asari, a Metro rail security guard and retired Army jawan. Excited seeing aircraft up close for the first time, the teenager borrowed his father’s phone to film a plane emerging from behind a maze of structures, lift its nose for during takeoff, and then turn into a giant fireball that consumed 260 people and singed innumerable lives, including Aryan’s own. That was AI Flight 171. In a matter of seconds, Aryan’s excitement turned into unforgettable horror.

The footage later went viral after someone copied it while Magan was showing it to a colleague. “That was the first time Aryan had seen an aircraft flying so close. He started recording it out of excitement,” Magan told TOI.

The attention that followed overwhelmed the teen from a village. His first time in the city wasn’t exactly what he had fathomed it would be. Family members say people began seeking him out for interviews and details about what he saw. The next day, Aryan returned to his village, and has not returned since. “Seeing the plane go up in flames, people asking for interviews. It was scary,” Aryan said on the phone.

Magan says the experience shook Aryan. “He has stopped shooting videoes and and largely avoids using a mobile phone,” he said.