Old plane crash video misrepresented as aftermath of Kashmir attack

Published on May 1, 2025 at 11:30
3 min read
By Masroor GILANI, AFP Pakistan

After a deadly attack in the contested Kashmir region prompted fears of spiralling conflict between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, social media users shared an old clip falsely claiming it shows wreckage of an Indian warplane shot down by Pakistani troops. The video actually shows a fighter jet that crashed in western India after its pilots reported a technical snag.

"Pakistan Army has shot down an Indian Rafale jet in the Poonch sector of the LOC (Line of Control), Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah)," reads part of the Urdu-language caption of a video posted on X on April 29, 2025.

The 10-second clip shows wreckage of a plane burning in a field.

Screenshot of the false X post, taken on April 30, 2025

Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours have plummeted since New Delhi blamed its arch-rival Islamabad for an assault that killed 26 men in Indian-administered Kashmir in April, the deadliest attack on civilians there in a quarter of a century (archived link).

Islamabad has rejected the charge, and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, diplomatic barbs, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut.

The video was also shared elsewhere on X, Facebook, Threads and TikTok alongside a similar claim.

However, a reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared clip shows Indian news outlet ET Now published the same footage on Facebook on June 4, 2024 (archived link).

"An Indian Air Force Sukhoi fighter jet crashed in Nashik, Maharashtra today, with both pilots safely ejected before the impact," its caption reads.

Screenshots comparison of false post (left) and the ET Now video

Indian news outlets My Nation and Firstpost also shared footage of the wreckage from a different angle (archived here and here).

The Times of India reported the aircraft was on a test flight after an overhaul by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) when it crashed (archived link).

The company confirmed the jet had crashed in a statement on X (archived link).

India's PTI news agency and the government's Press Information Bureau also dismissed the claim as false in separate reports (archived here and here).

AFP has debunked other false claims stemming from the Kashmir attack here, here and here.

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