A man who travelled from Delhi to Ahmedabad on Thursday has claimed he was on the same Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft that crashed just hours later while taking off for London.
Akash Vatsa, an entrepreneur, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his experience. “I was in the same d**n 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,” he posted.
Vatsa also uploaded videos from inside the aircraft, highlighting issues with the air-conditioning and the in-flight entertainment system. “We are almost about to taxi. But the AC is not working. Look at everyone. AC is not working at all. And as usual, the TV screens are not working. Not even the light is working. Is this what you are providing?” he said in a video recorded during his journey.
The post quickly went viral, attracting more than four million views within two hours.
In a follow-up post, Vatsa added that he would not be flying back to Delhi with Air India that night.
Mint could not independently verify the authenticity of his claim.
What happened to the Air India Boeing 787-8?
The same Boeing aircraft, which reportedly struggled to maintain altitude, crashed near the Meghaninagar area, close to Ahmedabad International Airport, at around 2 pm on Thursday.
Air India confirmed the incident, stating that flight AI171, which was bound for London Gatwick, met with an accident shortly after take-off.
“The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs, was carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Of these, 169 are Indian nationals, 53 are British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals,” the airline said in a statement on X.