Photo from 2023 IAF lane crash peddled by Pakistani social media users as Indian pilot captured

At the height of the India-Pakistan armed conflict, several Pakistani X accounts on May 10 shared a picture of a woman in army uniform. It was claimed by users who shared the photo that Pakistan had captured an Indian female pilot. X user Dr. Taha posted this picture with the same claim. (Archived Link)

Indian female pilot captured pic.twitter.com/NaAMfxGE2E

— Dr. Taha چیمہ (@MuhammadTahaCh1) May 10, 2025

X account Chand Sitara also posted this picture with the same claim. However, the user deleted the post later. (Archived link)

Another X account shared this picture with a similar claim.

Numerous X users also posted this picture taking a dig at India.

What is the Truth Behind the Image?

While investigating the viral image, Alt News came across a video report by The News Minute dated June 1, 2023. The video contained visuals of the wreckage of a plane crash along with the viral image. According to the caption, the visuals depicted an Indian Air Force (IAF) Kiran training aircraft which crashed on June 1 in the Bhogpur village of the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. However, before the crash, flight instructor Wing Commander Tejpal and trainee pilot Bhumika were able to safely evacuate from the aircraft.

The Indian Air Force had also tweeted about this on June 1, 2023.

A Kiran trainer aircraft of the IAF crashed near Chamrajnagar, Karnataka today, while on a routine training sortie. Both aircrew ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 1, 2023

Star of Mysore published an article covering this and shared pictures of the incident, which also included the viral image.

PIB Fact Check, the fact-checking wing of Union government’s press information bureau, shared a tweet explaining the truth behind the photo.

To sum up, the viral picture is of an IAF aircraft crash that took place in a village in Karnataka on June 1, 2023.  It is being falsely shared by Pakistani users who claim that a Indian woman pilot had been captured.

At the same time, another video clip was being widely shared with the same claim. In the video, a person is seen stuck in a tree with a parachute. Alt News found this clip in a post by Samachar First dated March 16, 2025. Hence, this clip also has nothing to do with the recent armed conflict between India and Pakistan.

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