Old Malaysia helicopter collision clip falsely linked to Brazil crash
- Published on June 22, 2026 at 10:43
- Updated on June 22, 2026 at 10:51
- 3 min read
- By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand
Two helicopters collided mid-air in Brazil in June 2026, killing American singer Oliver Tree, but footage of a crash circulating online is unrelated to the incident. The video was filmed in Malaysia and previously appeared in April 2024 news reports about a disaster involving the Southeast Asian nation's military choppers.
"Oliver Tree, a 32-year-old American artist and singer, died in a mid-air helicopter collision in Brazil. The tragic incident resulted in a total of six deaths at the scene," reads a Thai-language TikTok post on June 16, 2026.
The post shares a video showing the moment two helicopters fall to the ground from a mid-air collision, before it cuts to Thai text that reads: "sweet dreams Oliver Tree, 1993-2026".
Similar claims spread elsewhere on Facebook and X and were also shared in multiple languages such as English, Spanish and French.
AFP reported that two helicopters collided mid-air on the morning of June 14, 2026, over the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighbourhood in western Rio de Janeiro before plummeting into the car park of an electric vehicle dealership, setting around 20 cars ablaze (archived link).
American alt-pop singer and internet personality 32-year-old Oliver Tree was aboard one of two helicopters, alongside other passengers including a Brazilian music producer and an Argentine video director.
NBC News reported that Tree's body had been returned to California on June 22, while the cause of the collision is under investigation (archived link).
However, the circulating video does not resemble photos and videos of the Brazil helicopter crash distributed by AFP.
2024 Malaysia collision
A reverse image search using keyframes from the video led AFP to a longer version of the footage published on the YouTube channel of Channel News Asia (CNA) on April 23, 2024 (archived link). The caption links the footage to a crash involving Malaysian military choppers.
The same video and its screenshots were also published by other media organisations South China Morning Post and the Jakarta Post in April 2024 (archived here and here).
AFP reported that two military helicopters on April 23, 2024, collided during a flypast training session and killed all 10 crew members on board both aircrafts (archived link).
The Malaysian Navy confirmed in a statement that the collision occurred during a rehearsal for the 90th Navy Day parade at the Lumut naval base in the state of Perak on April 23, 2024 (archived link).
Malaysia's English-language news site New Straits Times reported that one helicopter crashed on the stadium while another into the complex's swimming pool (archived link).
Google Maps' satellite imagery of the Lumut naval base corresponds to visual elements seen in the longer CNA video, including an orange exterior of the stadium and a swimming pool next to a complex (archived link).
Another video published by video agency Newsflare shows the same collision from another angle, filmed next to a swimming pool (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked posts that misrepresented old footage as recent disasters.
This article was updated to correct a typo on paragraph 14June 22, 2026 This article was updated to correct a typo on paragraph 14
Copyright © AFP 2017-2026. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
