Clip From Flight Simulator Falsely Shared as ‘Airplane Crashed in Iran'

The video is from a flight simulator called 'X-Plane 11' and does not show a plane crashing in Mashhad, Iran.

A short clip of a Garuda Indonesia (Indonesia's national airlines) airplane drifting, bouncing, and crashing on an airport runway is going viral across social media with the claim that it shows a plane crash landing in Mashhad, Iran on 7 January.

However, we found that the footage is originally from a flight simulation software called 'X-Plane 11' and is not real. A search for plane crashes in Iran this year led to no results.

CLAIM

The short clip is being shared to claim that it shows a Garuda Indonesia flight crash landing at Mashhad city airport in Iran. The claim also states that the crash happened on 7 January 2022.

Archives of more such claims across Facebook and YouTube can be seen here, here, here, and here.

WHAT WE FOUND OUT

Using keywords on YouTube, we looked for news reports regarding a Garuda Indonesia plane crash, but did not come across any.

We came across a video uploaded on 2 May 2020 by a verified YouTube channel called 'Bopbibun,' which had the same visuals as the viral clip.

Its description reads, "This is only in the flight simulation. This situation is not real! Everything in this video doesn't happen in real life, because this situation is just a challenge for me to try in the flight simulation."

The section of the video that is seen in the viral claim starts at the 05:55-minute mark.

We were also able to match the frames in both videos.

(Note: Swipe right to view both photos)

Clearly, a clip from a flight simulation software is being shared as an Indonesian airplane crash landing in Iran.

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