Fact Check: Old Mirage Crash Video Falsely Linked to Recent Strike

India launched strikes on both Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, retaliating against the Pahalgam terror attack. The Indian Joint Forces announced that the Operation Sindoor has targeted 9 terrorist centres. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, briefed the media on the precision strikes on terror camps. The missile strikes targeted facilities in Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Bahawalpur, Rawalakot, Chakswari, Bhimber, Neelum Valley, Jhelum, and Chakwal, all areas long suspected by intelligence agencies of harboring terrorist camps. The Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the Indian Armed Forces targeted only those who killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam's Baisaran meadow. Meanwhile, Pakistan claims that 26 civilians were killed in the attack, according to reports.

Social media has been flooded with misinformation regarding the attack. Several users are sharing videos showing different jet planes being shot down by the opposing army. One widely circulated video claims that an Indian pilot was rescued from a crashed plane. The viral video, shared with a caption in Turkish, translates to: “An Indian pilot surviving a crashed warplane was captured on camera.” Several Pakistani accounts have shared this claim widely.

Here is the screenshots and link of the viral claim;

Fact Check:

The video claiming Indian pilot being rescued from a crashed plane is misleading. The video is not related to the current situation

A Google reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video revealed that a similar video was uploaded three months ago. It was posted by a YouTube channel named Defense Direct Education on February 7, 2025, and is titled “IAF Mirage 2000 Crash in MP.”

On further search we found The Indian Express report on the same event. The video was published on Feb 6, 2025 with the title 'Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 Crashes in Madhya Pradesh, Both Pilots Injured'. The report says that an Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 trainer jet crashed near Jargama Sani Sunari outpost in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district. Both pilots sustained injuries but are safe. Local police and Air Force officials arrived at the scene immediately. Images from the site show a pilot making a call, possibly reporting the accident.

Hence, the videos in circulation do not show real recent accident survived by pilots. The visuals are of Air Jet crash in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh in february, 2025. Hence the claim is misleading.