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Fact Check: Video of PIA plane crash in 2020 shown as recent incident in Karachi
A misleading social media post falsely claims a passenger plane was shot down recently in Karachi, Pakistan.
The video showing thick plumes of smoke from a residential area after a plane crash was shared with claim that a passenger plane was shot down by the Pakistan Air Force near Karachi airport with 100 passengers on board.
The false claim was shared by an X user Meherzad Baloch with the handle @meherzadbaloch with the caption, “According to eyes witnesses a plane crashed at #Malir #Karachi #Pakistan. It could be a Pakistan Air Force plane.”
The claim was shared on several Indian-based social media account on X, formerly Twitter. An account with the handle @KnightHindutva was captioned, “Breaking Pakistan, A passenger plane crashed near Karachi airport in Pakistan. The plane hit a residential area, there are about 100 people on board the plane.”
The actually footage related to the tragic plane crash on 22 May, 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight crashed in Model Colony area, just minutes before landing.
The incident occurred when with PIA flight 8303 from Lahore to Karachi crashed while approaching Jinnah International Airport, killing 97 out of 99 passengers on board.
The event was widely covered by local and international media that can be viewed here, here, here, and here. The visuals also related to the one shared in the clip.
Fact Check Pakistan concludes that the video is not recent and has no connection to any action by the PAF. The video is shared with misleading claims to get the spotlight and malign Pakistan.
