Pakistan Air Force Shoots Down Passenger Plane? No, Viral Video Shows 2020 Crash Of PIA Flight

A 19-second video, showing giant plumes of smoke arising from a building, has gone viral on social media with the claim that a passenger aircraft with 100 fliers onboard was shot down by the Pakistani Air Force near the Karachi airport.

The archived version of the post can be seen here, which has clocked 158.2K views so far.

Fact Check

Newschecker first ran a keyword search for “Karachi plane” “Pakistan Air Force” & “shot down,” which did not lead us to any credible news report about such an incident following the terror attack in Pahalgam that has escalated the India-Pakistan tensions.

We then ran a reverse image search of the keyframes of the viral footage, which led us to the a post on X on May 22, 2020, carrying the same video, stating that a passenger plane crashed into a residential area near Karachi airport, along with the hashtag #PIACrash.  Similar X posts from May 22, 2020, can be seen here and here, stating that it was PIA’s Lahore-Karachi flight PK-8303.

Taking a cue, we ran a relevant keyword search, which led us to multiple news reports, seen here, here, here and here, stating that 97 people, including nine children, were killed and two passengers miraculously survived the fiery crash when the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-8303 from Lahore plunged into a densely populated residential area near Karachi airport on a Friday afternoon (May 22, 2020).

A comparison of a screengrab used in the West Australian’s May 22, 2020 news report (right) with one from the viral video (left), confirms they are of the same incident.

“The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK8303 was on a routine domestic service from Lahore to Karachi, and was almost at the end of the 90-minute flight when it crashed on the approach to Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport…According to the state television channel PTV, the plane came down in a densely populated area near the airport called Model Colony….Dr Seemi Jamali ​of Jinnah Hospital told The Independent that six injured people have been brought to hospital. The injured are said to be residents of the area where the plane crashed,” read the Independent’s May 22, 2020 report on the crash, featuring an excerpt from the viral video.

Also Read: Sukhoi Fighter Jets Penetrated Pakistan Airspace? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Video

Conclusion

2020 video of PIA crash falsely shared as Pakistan Air Force shooting down a passenger plane near Karachi.