Ahmedabad: On the morning of June 12, 17-year-old Aryan Asari had climbed to the terrace of a building in Ahmedabad’s Omkar Nagar to record low-flying aircraft on his mobile phone—unaware that he was about to capture a tragedy. Within 24 seconds of filming, the Air India Flight AI-171 crashed, killing all on board.

Aryan, a Class 12 student visiting his father from his native village in Aravalli district, became an accidental eyewitness to one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent memory. His grainy video quickly went viral, becoming a crucial visual document for both authorities and independent investigators.

“I felt very scared because of what I saw. My sister was the first one to see the video, and she told my father,” Aryan told PTI. The teenager said he had never seen an airplane before and was stunned by the crash, which occurred just 33 seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport.

Aryan’s statement was recorded on Saturday by the Gujarat Crime Branch, who clarified that he was not detained but questioned as a witness. A senior officer said Aryan was asked about why and how he took the video, the timing, and others present. His father, a former army man now working with Ahmedabad Metro, accompanied him to the station.

Aryan’s family and friends say he is deeply disturbed and has not slept since the incident. His friend Raj Singh, who was present during the filming, described Aryan as visibly shaken. The family has since left Omkar Nagar and moved to a relative’s house to avoid media and public attention.

The short but pivotal video shows the aircraft descending unnaturally, followed by smoke billowing into the sky. Authorities confirmed the footage is now part of the ongoing investigation.

As the nation mourns the loss from the AI-171 crash, Aryan’s accidental footage has brought global attention to the moments leading up to the disaster—and the psychological toll it has taken on a teen who simply wanted to film an aircraft for the first time.