Visuals of old jet crash misrepresented as recent Bangladesh air tragedy

Published on August 13, 2025 at 10:09
Updated on August 13, 2025 at 10:33
2 min read
By Rasheek MUJIB, AFP Bangladesh

Footage of an aircraft on fire plummeting mid-air circulated in social media posts falsely linking it to the fighter jet crash that killed at least 33 people in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on July 21, 2025. But the video has circulated in news reports since May 2024 when a fighter jet crashed into a river in the country's southeastern city of Chittagong.

"The way the Air Force training plane crashed and fell on Milestone School and College in Uttara," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post shared on July 21, 2025.

The clip shows a fighter jet with its tail on fire spiralling into a body of water as two persons are seen ejecting from the aircraft.

Screenshot of the false post, taken on August 13, with a red X added by AFP

The clip circulated in similar Facebook posts after a fighter jet slammed into the private Milestone School and College in capital city Dhaka just as pupils had been let out of class on July 21, 2025 (archived link).

The tragic crash left at least 33 people dead, mostly children, and injured more than 170 people -- some still undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Dhaka (archived link).

But the video does not show the recent disaster.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the footage led to a video published on the verified YouTube channel of local media outlet The Daily Star on May 9, 2024 (archived link).

"How the plane caught fire and crashed into the Karnaphuli River", its caption said.

Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false post (L) and The Daily Star YouTube report

Local media organisation Prothom Alo also published the video in its report about the crash on May 9, 2024.

Both pilots -- wing commander Sohan Hasan Khan and squadron leader Asim Jawad -- ejected from the jet and landed in the river, though Jawad died later at a hospital (archived link).

The Bangladesh Air Force said that after the plane caught fire, the pilots were able to maneuver the plane from a densely populated area near the airport to a sparsely populated area to avoid major damage (archived link).

AFP has debunked misinformation around the recent Bangladesh jet crash here.

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