The Boy Who Loved Planes: Indian Plane Crash

 How a Dream Turned into a Nightmare in the Sky

Aryan Asari used to chase airplanes with wonder in his eyes—until one fell from the sky in front of him, changing his life forever.

For 17-year-old Aryan Asari, the sky was never the limit—it was a fascination. Every passing airplane drew him out of the house, eyes wide, heart racing. From the fields of his quiet village near the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, he would gaze upward, dreaming of flight.

But all that changed in a flash of fire and metal.

Last Thursday, in what has become one of the worst aviation disasters in Indian history, an Air India Dreamliner 787-8 plummeted from the skies over Ahmedabad, crashing just beyond the city limits. All 241 passengers and crew onboard perished, along with nearly 30 people on the ground.

Aryan, camera in hand, watched—and filmed—it happen.

A Moment of Wonder Becomes a Moment of Horror

What began as an afternoon of curiosity turned into a moment that would haunt Aryan forever.

“It was shaking, moving side to side,” he recalled in a quiet interview with BBC Gujarati. “I saw it going down, and then… it crashed.”

The high school student had just arrived in Ahmedabad that day with his sister. It was his first visit to the city—and the first time he had ever left his village. He was staying in a small room perched atop a three-story building, his father’s modest residence near the airport, offering him a perfect view of the flight path.

He couldn’t believe his luck—until that moment.

Aryan had been filming airplanes from the terrace, hoping to impress his friends. The phone in his hand captured the entire descent of the doomed aircraft. The smoke, the impact, the eruption of flames—all immortalized in the stunned grip of a teenager.

He sent the video to his father, Maganbhai Asari, a retired army man now working with the city metro. “He was terrified. He kept saying, ‘I saw it crash, papa! What will happen to me?’” Mr. Asari recalled.

A Viral Clip and an Unwanted Spotlight

The footage, raw and shocking, was quickly shared with a few friends—and soon, it was everywhere.

Within hours, the boy's private terror had become a public sensation. Newsrooms scrambled for the exclusive. Reporters surrounded the Asari home. Microphones, cameras, and questions followed them like shadows.

“He’s just a child,” Mr. Asari said. “But they treated him like a witness, a source, a headline.”

Police arrived too. Aryan was taken in for questioning—not detained, his father clarified, but deeply shaken. He hadn’t slept. He wasn’t eating. And worst of all, he had stopped looking at the sky.

The Trauma of Witnessing Tragedy

Experts say it's a textbook case of secondary trauma—when those who witness tragic events are emotionally impacted, often severely. For Aryan, the symptoms are clear.

“He flinches when his phone rings,” said his father. “He’s afraid someone else will ask him to relive it all again.”

Fearing for his son’s mental health, Mr. Asari sent Aryan back to their village. He has since returned to school—but the vibrant boy who once chased airplanes now avoids even looking up.

“I don’t think he’ll ever film a plane again,” Mr. Asari said quietly.

A National Tragedy, A Personal Toll

As investigators pour over the crash site, combing through black box data and maintenance logs, Aryan’s video has become key evidence. It offers rare, real-time footage of the aircraft’s descent—its erratic path, its final moments.

But while the footage may help answer why the plane fell, it cannot explain how a dream became a nightmare for a young boy who once found joy in the sound of engines overhead.

He never boarded the plane.

He never met the passengers.

But in a strange, cruel twist of fate, he became part of the story.

And for Aryan Asari, the sky will never look the same again.