"Was On It 2 Hours Ago": Man Who Flew On Same Aircraft Before It Crashed

A London-bound Air India plane with 242 people aboard crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Even as the reason behind one of the worst aviation disasters is yet to be established, a passenger who was allegedly on the "same flight", two hours before it took off from Ahmedabad, has spoken out about his in-flight experience. The passenger took the flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad.

"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 place," he said.

"I was on the Delhi to Ahmedabad sector of the same Dreamliner," Akash Vatsa told NDTV.

Air India's flight 171 - a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London's Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after takeoff around 1:40 pm (0810 GMT), officials said.

On his X handle, Mr Vatsha shared several photos of the plane and a video, where he talked about the non-functioning in-flight entertainment and other services.

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 place.Made a video to tweet to @airindia i would want to give more details. Please contact me. @flyingbeast320 @aajtak @ndtv @Boeing_In #planecrash #AI171 pic.twitter.com/TymtFSFqJo

— Akash Vatsa  (@akku92) June 12, 2025

Mr Vatsa also said that the flight number got changed, so "the passengers with a connecting flight to London had to deboard, come to the departure gate and had to board again". "The flight number got changed, so passengers to London also had to deboard and go via transit again, he added.

The plane rapidly lost altitude, with its nose up, before it crashed into a medical college hostel and exploded into a ball of fire, several horrifying videos showed. The hostel housed medical students and young doctors.

Photos showed a large chunk of the plane smashed through the brick and concrete wall of a building.