A year after inadvertently recording the final moments of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that claimed 260 lives, 18-year-old Aryan Asari continues to grapple with the trauma of witnessing one of India's deadliest aviation disasters. Known across his village and nearby areas as the "Aeroplane Boy," Aryan says the incident left him too fearful to film aircraft again or even consider boarding one.

A year ago, Aryan was an ordinary schoolboy from a remote village in Gujarat's Aravalli district. His life changed on June 12 last year when a video he recorded on his mobile phone captured the final moments of the ill-fated Air India flight before it crashed in Ahmedabad.

"I went to Ahmedabad for the first time and saw a plane from such a close distance. I took out my mobile phone and started recording because I wanted to show it to my friends back in the village," Aryan recalled during an interaction with PTI ahead of the first anniversary of the tragedy.

Standing on the terrace of his father's rented accommodation in Ahmedabad's Meghaninagar area near the airport, Aryan was fascinated by the sight of a low-flying aircraft. What began as a casual recording soon became one of the most widely circulated videos of the disaster.

"Suddenly, the plane started coming down and then crashed into a huge fireball. I was terrified. I had never imagined something like that could happen in front of my eyes," he said.

Aryan had arrived in Ahmedabad on the morning of the crash to spend time with his father, Magan Asari, a retired Army soldier who was then working as a security guard at a Metro station. The visit was also intended to help him purchase textbooks after securing admission to Class 12.

Instead, within hours of reaching the city, he found himself witnessing a tragedy that would draw national attention. His video quickly spread across social media platforms and television news channels, making him an unexpected public figure.

Following the video's viral spread, journalists visited his father's residence in large numbers, and Aryan appeared on several television channels to recount what he had seen.

A few days later, he returned to his native village in Meghraj taluka and resumed his studies. He subsequently cleared his Class 12 board examinations and is now looking to secure admission to college.

While life has largely returned to normal, Aryan says the incident continues to define how people recognise him.

"When I came back to my village, everyone wanted to see the video. My friends told me that I had become famous," he said with a shy smile.

"Recently, I went to attend a wedding and many people came up to me asking, 'Are you the same aeroplane boy?' I told them yes," Aryan said.

Despite the attention, the tragedy has left a lasting psychological impact.

"After that incident, I stopped filming aeroplanes on my mobile phone. Now I am scared that if I record a plane, it may also crash," he admitted.

The fear extends beyond recording aircraft. Like many young people from rural Gujarat, Aryan hopes to travel abroad one day, but flying remains an unsettling prospect.

"I want to go abroad in the future, but right now I don't have the courage to sit inside an aeroplane," he added.