Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Old, Unrelated Mayday Call Falsely Shared As Cockpit Audio From AI 171

Claim

An audio recording of the Mayday call by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal from the cockpit of Air India flight AI 171, which tragically crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025.

The archived version of the post can be seen here.

Fact

Newschecker ran a keyword search for “AI 171 Mayday call recording”, which led us to this NDTV report, dated June 26, 2025, stating that information from the black boxes recovered from the June 12 Air India plane crash has been successfully downloaded and is being analysed. 

A similar Times of India report, dated June 26, 2025, stated that the black box data from the Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 is currently being analysed to determine the cause of the accident, adding that both the “cockpit voice recorders” (CVR) and flight data recorders (FDR) —  collectively form what is known as “black box” — were recovered, one from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13 and the other from the debris on June 16.

The CVR data is reportedly expected to shed light on cockpit conversations, crew responses, and ambient sounds, while the FDR contains parameters like altitude, airspeed, flight control inputs, and engine performance. “Analysis of CVR and FDR data underway. These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety,” the government reportedly said, which confirmed that no audio clips from the retrieved data have yet been released by the authorities.

A reverse image search of keyframes led us to a longer version of the viral video, uploaded on X on May 14, 2025, close to a month before the tragic crash, stating that it was an estimated recreation featuring real ATC audio of a pilot panicking after his aircraft entered a spin, prompting a frantic Mayday call, but “thanks to calm and precise instructions from ATC, the pilot was able to recover and land safely.”  

A further search led us to the same audio recording uploaded as part of a video on Youtube on June 1, 2009, headlined, “Real Life In-Flight Emergency (audio).” The viral audio can be heard from the 01:05 mark.

“VFR Pilot of a Cessna 172 flew into IFR conditions. He got disoriented and stalled the aircraft turning it into a spin. ATC saved this guy’s life. The audio is a chilling reminder that flying an aircraft in real life is not a video game. The aircraft registration is N9815L,” read the description, where you can see the aircraft registration number of N9815L is the same seen in the viral clip too. Similar posts sharing the audio recording can be seen here and here, further confirming that it is not related to the AI 171 Boeing Dreamliner crash on June 12, 2025. We also learnt that the N9815L aircraft is a 1986 Cessna 172P (fixed-wing single-engine) currently registered with the Westosha Flying Club, based in the US, and bought in 1986.

Also Read: Toll Tax On Two-Wheelers? Here’s The Truth Behind ‘New Rule For NHAI’

Sources
X post, Combat-learjet, May 14, 2025
Youtube video, June 1, 2009