Air India passenger Akash Vatsa, who flagged ‘unusual things' before crash, now shares what he 'noticed'
Akash Vatsa went viral on social media after claiming he had flown on the same Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight just hours before it crashed in Ahmedabad on Thursday. His post soon drew widespread attention not just for the timing, but because he claimed to have some important observations about the aircraft's condition.
In his post, Akash Vatsa also urged authorities to get in touch with him so he could share his observations about the crashed flight.
"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," his post had said.
Akash, who was onboard during its earlier leg from Delhi to Ahmedabad, spoke with news agency ANI and shared his account.
While the flight seemed routine at first, Akash said he noticed something unusual.
'At cruising altitude, I noticed that the rear part of the flaps was moving up and down repeatedly,' Vatsa said while speaking to ANI, adding that he was no expert and someone associated with aviation would understand it better.
"I did not witness any issues when the flight took off. I felt something was unusual with the plane's flaps outside. Experts will be able to decode this better. The ACs were not working properly when the flight was on the ground before taking off," he said.
However, it must be noted that whether Vatsa's observations have any connection to Thursday's crash is not clear, and the exact cause of the mishap will only be ascertained after a thorough probe, which is underway.
The London-bound Air India plane crashed into a medical college complex in Ahmedabad and burst into a ball of fire less than a minute after takeoff. The dead in the country's worst air disaster in recent times included several people on the ground.
Air India has confirmed that 241 people, who were on board, were killed in the crash. One person has survived the accident and is currently under medical observation.
Meanwhile, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has launched a full-scale investigation into the crash, with over 40 staff from the Gujarat State Government joining efforts to support the Ministry of Civil Aviation teams on the ground.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ahmedabad on Friday and took stock of the situation at the crash site. He also met those injured in the incident at the Ahmedabad civic hospital.
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