Claim
Video shows a firefighting plane exploding after crashing to the ground while tackling the wildfires in Los Angeles.
Such posts can be seen here and here.
Fact
A Google Lens search on the keyframes of the viral video yielded a report by IHA News, dated January 16, 2024, on a plane crash in Chile. Carrying similar footage, it stated, “A tragic incident unfolded in the Maule region of Chile as a firefighting plane crashed on a highway near Talca.”
On comparing both the visuals, we found the viral footage to be a literally inverted version of the video featured in the news report.
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Further verification led us to a report by The Telegraph, dated January 16, 2024, carrying the same footage. “A Chilean firefighter plane crashed into a road in a fiery inferno after it snagged on electricity poles while flying low. The crash, which killed the pilot and injured four other people, took place on a road near the Panguilemo Aerodrome in Talca, a commune in Chile’s Maule region,” it stated.
The video was also shared by Al Jazeera on YouTube to show a crash in Chile in January 2024. Multiple others such as this, this and this had reported on the incident.
Notably, a civilian drone collided with a Canadian aircraft fighting the Palisades Fire last week. The aircraft reportedly sustained wing damage, and was grounded after the collision.
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We could thus conclude an old video from Chile has been falsely shared to show a firefighting plane crashing in Los Angeles.
Result: False
Sources
Report By IHA News, Dated January 16, 2024
YouTube Video By The Telegraph, Dated January 16, 2024
YouTube Video By Al Jazeera, Dated January 16, 2024
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