Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Sharing videos online, Akash Vatsa said he had noticed “unusual things in the plane” and had even recorded videos to report the issue.

Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Flight AI171, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, departed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. (Image Credit: X)
Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Flight AI171, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, departed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. (Image Credit: X)

Hours before Air India Flight AI171 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, a passenger who had flown on the same aircraft earlier that day claimed he experienced multiple technical malfunctions during his journey from Delhi to Ahmedabad.

Akash Vatsa, a user on X (formerly Twitter), posted that he had flown on the same Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner approximately two hours before it took off for London Gatwick and crashed. Sharing videos online, Akash Vatsa said he had noticed “unusual things in the plane” and had even recorded a video intending to tag Air India to report the issues.

“I was in the same damn flight 2 hours before it took off from AMD. I came in this from DEL-AMD. Noticed unusual things in the plane. Made a video to tweet to @airindia,” he wrote. In the videos, he pointed out non-functioning air conditioning, unresponsive seat buttons and faulty entertainment screens.

Ahmedabad Air India Crash

Flight AI171, carrying 242 passengers and crew members, departed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad at 1:38 PM for London Gatwick but crashed within minutes of takeoff. The aircraft had reached an altitude of approximately 825 feet before it began a rapid descent, crashing between 1 PM and 2 PM IST. Onboard were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national.

Air India acknowledged the incident and stated that it is cooperating fully with aviation authorities. A dedicated helpline number (1800 5691 444) has been set up for families seeking information. The Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) have launched a full-scale investigation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “heartbreaking beyond words”, saying, “The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.”

Leaders from the UK, EU, Israel, Maldives and other nations have also expressed condolences and solidarity.