Video shows aircraft built by Bangladeshi man, not Indian teenager

Published on August 12, 2025 at 07:46
3 min read
By Akshita KUMARI, AFP India

Indian social media users and news outlets have circulated a video of a man flying a single-seater aircraft with a false claim that it was filmed in the country. The man who built the plane confirmed to AFP that he is from Bangladesh.

"BREAKING. A teenager Avnish Kumar from Muzaffarpur, Bihar has built a flying plane in just one week, using only junk material," reads a post on X on July 28, 2025. "There is no dearth of talent in India."

It also claims the plane was built at a cost of 7,000 Indian rupees (USD 79).

Video included with the post shows people running behind a single-seater aircraft as it takes off.

Screenshot of the false post captured July 30, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The clip circulated in similar posts on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X. Some Indian outlets also repeated the false claim in reports featuring visuals from the video.

Some users appear to believe the clip was filmed in India.

"Innovation takes flight in Bihar. Young minds in a village turned scrap into a working aircraft -- and it actually flew! Proof that India's real potential lies in its grassroots," one user commented.

Another wrote, "Bihari brothers are not only hardworking but also possess remarkable intelligence and resourcefulness."

But the clip was filmed in Bangladesh's Jafarganj.

A reverse image search of keyframes from the clip found the same footage shared on the Facebook page Aviation Videos on June 11, 2025 (archived link).

The post is captioned, "A 28-year-old Bangladeshi innovator from Manikganj, who successfully built and flew his own ultralight aircraft. Despite having no formal training in aeronautics and facing financial constraints, Julhas spent three years researching and one year constructing the aircraft, investing around Tk 8 lakh (USD 6,600)."

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false posts (L) and the video uploaded on Facebook

Subsequent keyword search found a longer video embedded in Bangladeshi media outlet Daily Star's report on March 5 that said 28-year-old Julhas Molla, an electrician by profession, successfully flew his self-made ultralight aircraft in Jafarganj (archived link).

He confirmed to AFP that the video in the false posts shows a plane that he built.

"It took me around one year to build the plane as I worked on it between my regular job. I spent 150,000 Taka (USD 1,233) to build it," Molla said on August 7.

"I saw it was shared among Indian users claiming it was made by an Indian teenager which is completely false," he added.

AFP has previously debunked false Indian social media posts on incidents originating in Bangladesh here, here and here.

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