New revelations surrounding the crash of Air India Flight AI171 suggest potential technical issues may have preceded the fatal incident. Just two hours before the aircraft went down on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 people on board, a passenger who had flown on the same Boeing 787 Dreamliner from Delhi to Ahmedabad shared a disturbing video of the jet’s interior. Akash Vasta, posting on X (formerly Twitter), reported that the air conditioning was non-functional, and none of the in-flight entertainment systems or cabin lights were working. In the now-viral video, he stated, “Nothing is working. Nothing! Not even the light is working,” raising concerns about the aircraft’s condition before the fatal flight. Vasta, clearly frustrated, added, “This is why Air India is considered one of the worst airlines in the world.”

While it remains unclear if these interior defects contributed to the crash, their timing has triggered questions about the aircraft’s maintenance and airworthiness. Passengers and aviation safety analysts are scrutinizing the footage and the airline’s procedures. The crash occurred shortly after takeoff, with the plane failing to gain proper altitude before plummeting to the ground. One survivor, British passenger Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, claimed to have leapt from the wreckage and speculated that a part—possibly an emergency door—was ejected mid-air, as seen in a separate video captured seconds before the crash. The official cause remains under investigation, but the emerging evidence is intensifying scrutiny of Air India’s safety standards and maintenance practices.