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Fact Check: Chinese jet crash passed off as Pakistan Air Force aircraft
An image of a plane crash claiming it is an aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force that crashed during a military drill is old, unrelated and digitally altered.
The image went viral on social media claiming that it shows a Pakistan Air Force plane that crashed in the Mianwali district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The post by a user with the handle @Neetivan, viewed 305k times, is captioned, “ #EXCLUSIVE Reports indicate that a J-10C of PAF has crashed in Mianwali district during the Zarb-e-Haideri training exercise.”
Fact Check Pakistan found out that the image 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.
A report published on a website named ‘Defence Blog’ 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.
It could be seen that the image did not carry the Pakistani flag as seen in the viral photograph. The viral image has been digitally altered and a emblem of the Pakistan flag has been placed on it.
The report can be viewed here.
The Taiwan English News shared visuals from the crash in one of its reports. It added that the aircraft appeared mostly intact but had a damaged nose. The report show has picture from the site of the incident of the crashed aircraft.
The news report can be viewed here.
A YouTube video by Phillip Carter titled ‘J 10S fighter crash, China’ was posted o 23 October, 2021. It was captioned that, “Chinese Air Force J-10S fighter crash-landed on Jialu River, Henan Province, October 22, 2021.”
A social media user on X named Byron Wan with the @Byron_Wan also a short version of the clip with the caption, “a PLAAF J-10 trainer aircraft allegedly made emergency landing on Jialu River in Henan province this morning (October 22). 2 pilots ejected from the fighter and landed on the river too.
The post can be view here.
Fact Check Pakistan concluded that it evident that the video is old and is being shared with a false claim.
