Aircraft

Does a viral video authentically show a C-17 Globemaster plane taking off from an aircraft carrier? No, that's not true: The viral clip was copied from a YouTube channel with an explicit disclaimer saying all footage is made "using simulator games." The Globemaster typically needs a runway well over 3,000 feet -- much more than a typical aircraft carrier has…

Was Delta Flight 4819, which crashed upon landing in Toronto, piloted by a female-only crew? No, that's not true: Delta referred to the flight captain as "he" in a statement on the company website, and the first officer as "she." In an audio recording of Air Traffic Control correspondence during the flight's landing and subsequent crash, the voices of what…

Does an image shared online in February 2025 show Jonathan Simpson, the pilot of Delta Flight 4819, which crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport? No, that's not true: The person depicted in the image is porn star Johnny Sins, whose image is often used in fake posts. The image featured a Grok AI watermark and, according to an online detection…

Does a photo show handcuffed and chained Indians being deported from the U.S.? No, that's not true: The photo shows people from Guatemala sitting on a military aircraft at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas awaiting deportation to Guatemala. The photo previously appeared in several January 2025 media reports. The claim the picture showed people from India appeared in a…

Does an image in a social media post show one of the Black Hawk helicopter pilots killed in the January 2025 Washington, D.C., aircraft collision as she worked on the White House staff for two years "instead of flying"? No, that's not true: The person singled out in the image is not Rebecca Lobach, one of the soldiers participating in…

Was the explosion near Roosevelt Mall in Philadelphia on January 31, 2025, not caused by an airplane crash but by a missile or comet? No, that's not true: The Federal Aviation Administration and multiple news outlets confirmed that the incident involved an aircraft. Global flight tracker Flight Radar 24 said the aircraft fell vertically at high speed. Other video angles…

Did a Black Hawk helicopter fail to respond to warnings seconds before colliding with a civilian airliner that was preparing to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025? No, that's not true: Air traffic control audio archives show the helicopter crew acknowledged two advisories from air traffic controllers to avoid the oncoming aircraft. Transportation Secretary Sean…

Does flight path data on a map prove that Flight 5342 suddenly reversed direction before fatally crashing into the Potomac River? No, that's not true: The reversal shown in a clip streamed by global flight tracking service Flightradar24 was due to a "jump" in data. That was caused by the program switching between data sources, a company spokesperson told Lead…

Was the military helicopter involved in the plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on January 29, 2025, "flying dark," as it was supposed to be broadcasting with an ADS-B transponder signal? No, that's not true: While the Black Hawk helicopter was not using ADS-B, it was still operating properly within the airspace, according to flight data and to…

Was the helicopter involved in the midair collision near Washington, D.C., on January 29, 2025, a police helicopter? No, that's not true: Local police refuted the claim shortly after the crash. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the helicopter that collided with a civilian plane was operated by the U.S. military. The claim appeared in a post (archived here)…