Viral video of passenger footage just before Air India Flight 171 crash

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team reviewed this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image and keyword search to find the original video.

Posts from Indian users on multiple social media platforms on June 12, 2025, shared a clip claiming to show a passenger recording footage from inside moments before the Air India Flight 171 crash in Ahmedabad. However, the video is actually a recording from the 2023 crash of Yeti Airlines Flight 691 in Nepal.

On June 12, more than 200 people were killed when an Air India plane bound for London with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad.

The plane came down in a residential area, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. It was headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital.

HOW IT STARTED

On June 12, an Indian account shared a 30-second clip claiming to show a passenger recording footage inside the aircraft moments before the crash.

The caption of the post read: “The video surfaced showing that a young man was live on Facebook at the time of the plane crash. The footage reveals how horrific the accident was.”

The post received 159,800 views.

The same video was also circulated on X, as seen here, here, here, here, and here, collectively garnering over 57,000 views.

The clip was shared on Facebook as well.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the plane crash.

A reverse image search from the screenshots of the viral clip yielded an X post of Indian media outlet The New Indian posted on January 15, 2023.

The caption of the post said, “Disturbing | A purported video clip shows one of the five Indian passengers onboard the Yeti Airlines aircraft filming his last moments before it crashed into the gorge of Seti river in Nepal. Reportedly, 68 people lost their lives in the incident.”

A keyword search for “airplane crash”, “live video” “Yeti Airlines” yielded a report from British media outlet The Guardian published on January 16, 2023 with the title: “Nepal plane crash: last moments inside cabin caught on passenger’s Facebook live video”.

According to the report, The Yeti Airlines plane carrying 68 passengers and four crew members crashed in Pokhara. The harrowing Facebook Live video had captured the last moments of Yeti Airlines Flight 691 as it descended into Pokhara, Nepal, on January  15,  2023.

The 90-second clip, recorded by Sonu  Jaiswal and streamed live during the aircraft’s final approach, began innocently — showing passengers laughing, panoramic views of the city and countryside, and Jaiswal smiling. Suddenly, the plane veered sharply left with a loud roar, the camera shook violently, and viewers heard screams as the aircraft crashed into a gorge and erupted into flames, extinguishing the livestream.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a video shows footage recorded by a passenger inside the Air India Flight 171 moments before it crashed is false.

The video is actually a Facebook live recording from just before the 2023 crash of the Yeti Airlines Flight 691 in Nepal.

Evidence and References

January 16, 2023, The Guardian report:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/16/nepal-plane-crash-facebook-live-video

January 15, 2023, The New Indian X post:
https://archive.md/G0W66