Old & Edited Image Passed Off as Pakistan Air Force Recent Plane Crash

The image dates back to October 2021 and shows a crashed fighter jet in China's Henan province.

Fact-Check | The image is old and does not show Pakistan Air Force's jet recently crashing.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image of a plane crash is going viral on the internet with a claim that it shows a recent visual of a Pakistan Air Force plane that crashed in the Mianwali district during the country's air warfare drill.

What did the viral post say?: The photograph's caption said, "#EXCLUSIVE Reports indicate that a J-10C of PAF has crashed in Mianwali district during the Zarb-e-Haideri training exercise."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The post had gained over three lakh views on the platform, when this report was being written. You can find archives of similar claims here, here, and here.

Is this claim true?: The viral image has been altered. The original one actually dates back to October 2021 and shows a J-10 fighter jet of the People's Liberation Army Air Force that crashed in the Henan Province of China.

How did we find that out?: Using the help of a simple reverse image, we were able to find a report published on a website named 'Defence Blog' that carried a similar visual.

• It said that a J-10 fighter jet of the People's Liberation Army Air Force was found ditched in the Jialu River in China's Henan.

• The two-seater fighter jet had reportedly crashed on 22 October 2021. The report further added that the pilot and co-pilot sustained minor injuries in the incident.

• As it could be seen that the image did not carry the Pakistani flag as seen in the viral photograph.

The report was published on 23 October 2021.

(Source: Defence Blog/Screenshot)

Other sources: The Taiwan English News, too, shared visuals from the crash in one of its reports and added that as per photographic evidence, the aircraft appeared mostly intact but had a damaged nose.

Conclusion: It is evident that the video is old and is being shared with a false claim.

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