Online Reporter
AHMEDABAD. – Every time Aryan Asari heard the sound of an airplane, he would go darting out of the house to look for it.
Spotting planes was something of a hobby for him, his father Maganbhai Asari said. Aryan loved the roaring sound of the engine fill the air and then grow louder as the plane cruised above him, leaving behind chalky threads of contrail in the sky.
But now, the very thought of it makes him sick.
Last Thursday, the 17-year-old had been on the terrace of Mr Asari’s house in Ahmedabad, making videos of airplanes, when an Air India Dreamliner 787-8 crashed right before his eyes and burst into flames, killing 241 on board.
Nearly 30 people were also killed on the ground.
The moment was captured by Aryan on his phone.
“I saw the plane. It was going down and down. Then it wobbled and crashed right before my eyes,” he told BBC Gujarati in an interview earlier this week.
The video, now a crucial clue for investigators trying to find the cause of the crash, has sent ripples through the news media and put Aryan – a high school student – at the centre of one of the worst aviation disasters in the country’s history.
“We have been swamped by interview requests. Reporters have been milling around my house day and night asking to speak to him,” Mr Asari told the BBC.
The incident – and what has followed since – has had a “devastating impact” on Aryan, who is traumatised by what he saw. “My son is so scared that he has stopped using his phone,” Mr Asari said.
The family ate lunch together, after which Mr Asari left for work, leaving the children at home.
Aryan stepped out on the terrace and started making videos of the house to show to his friends. That’s when he spotted the Air India plane and began filming it, he told BBC Gujarati. As the plane went on a downward spiral, he kept filming it, unable to grasp what was about to happen.
But when thick smoke filled the air and fire spewed out of the buildings, he finally realised what he had just witnessed. He sent the video to his father and called him up.
Mr Asari also asked his son to not share the video further. However, too scared and shocked, Aryan sent it to a few of his friends. “The next thing we knew, the clip was everywhere.”
The next few days were a nightmare for the family.
Neighbours, reporters and camera persons flooded Mr Asari’s small house day and night, requesting to speak to Aryan. The family also received a visit from the police, who took Aryan to the station and recorded his statement.
Mr Asari clarified, that contrary to reports, Aryan was not detained, but that police questioned him for a few hours about what he saw. – BBC
