Old video of an IAF Flight Lieutenant falsely shared as Indian soldier losing his life due to parachute failure - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 13, 2023
A video is being shared on social media claiming it as the final moments of an Indian soldier who died because of a parachute failure. The video shows a group of locals trying to provide first aid and save the pilot lying on the ground. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Video of an Indian soldier who lost his life because of a parachute failure.
Fact: The post shared an old video of Flight Lieutenant Abhilash, who managed to eject safely from the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 aircraft before a crash at a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district in October 2021. Indian Air Force in a statement said that the Mirage 2000 aircraft crashed because of a technical malfunction and informed that the pilot had ejected safely before the crash. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
On reverse image search of the screenshots of the video, videos with similar visuals were found posted on Facebook in October 2021. They can be seen here and here. Facebook users posted these videos stating it was the visuals from Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district where an Indian Air Force jet Mig-21 aircraft had suffered a crash. These users claim it as the visuals showing Lieutenant Abhilash who had ejected safely before the crash of the aircraft.
When we searched for further sources using relevant keywords on the internet, we found the details of the incident in a report published by the Hindustan Times news channel on 21 October 2021. As per the report, an IAF Mirage 2000 aircraft had experienced a technical malfunction during a training sortie and crashed at the Babedi village in the Bhind district. Flight Lieutenant Abhilash, who was flying the aircraft, had ejected before the crash and reportedly landed safely using a parachute in nearby Parasram Ka Pura village. Reporting the details of this accident, several news websites published articles and videos.
The Indian Air Force issued a statement about this accident stating, “An IAF Mirage 2000 aircraft experienced a technical malfunction during a training sortie in the central sector this morning. The pilot ejected safely. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.” Flight Lieutenant Abhilash did not lose his life during this accident that took place in October 2021, in the Bhind district in Madhya Pradesh.
An IAF Mirage 2000 aircraft experienced a technical malfunction during a training sortie in the central sector this morning. The pilot ejected safely. An Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.
To sum it up, an old video of an IAF Flight Lieutenant who ejected safely before the aircraft crash is falsely shared as Indian soldier lost his life due to parachute failure.