This video shows Hong Kong airport, not Air India flight that crashed in June
Clip that circulated online falsely claimed to show scenes from the plane
With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers.
In the wake of the deadly crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad in June, a video that circulated online falsely claimed to show scenes from when the plane took off.
The 36-second clip shot from inside a plane’s cabin racked up at least 100,000 views on Facebook. In it, shouts and blaring sirens can be heard.
More than 200 people were killed when a plane crashed minutes after taking off from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on June 12, in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
“Ahmedabad to London live plain [sic] crash,” the Facebook reel’s caption said.
It was shared with similar claims in other posts on Facebook, YouTube and X.
But the video did not show the Air India plane which crashed, nor was it taken from said flight. Instead, it was of a plane taking off from Hong Kong.
Investigation
A reverse image search on Google found a photo with certain matching features on stock photo provider Alamy.
“Aircraft on the apron of Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1 seen from a departing flight,” the caption read.
Below is a composite comparing a scene from the video with the photo on Alamy.
The Post looked at satellite imagery from Google Earth to further corroborate the location seen in the video.
It was clear that the video purporting to belong to the Air India flight was instead filmed during a plane’s take-off from Hong Kong International Airport, on an unknown date. The source of the audio in the posts could not be located.
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Below is a screenshot of a frame in the video with satellite imagery from Google Earth.
The same claim was also debunked by Indian fact-checking media outlets Factly and The Quint.
Verdict: False
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