Video Of Pilot Injured In 2019 IAF Plane Crash Viral As Operation Sindoor

A video from February 2019 of an injured Indian Air Force pilot being rescued by locals after his plane crashed in Bengaluru, Karnataka is viral with a false claim that it shows him injured after Pakistan shot down Indian Rafale jets involved in Operation Sindoor.

On May 7, 2025, India launched a retaliatory military strike against Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Nicknamed Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army said in a press briefing that it targeted nine terrorist establishments in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The video shows a group of people consoling an IAF pilot lying injured on the ground. It is being shared on X with the caption, "Indian Pilot bleeding to death…#RafaleDown #OperationSuhagraat #operation_sindoor"

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FACT-CHECK: Video From 2019, IAF Plane Crash In Bengaluru

BOOM found that the viral video is from February 2019, when two Surya Kiran Aerobatic team aircrafts collided mid air and crashed, injuring two pilots and killing another.

We ran a relevant keyword search and found news reports from February 2019 on the video identifying the injured IAF pilot seen in the video as Wing Commander Vijay Shelke. The media reports further added that, the team was out for a routine sortie when they crashed mid-air, injuring Shelke and Squadron Leader Tejeshwar Singh who ejected safely. The incident claimed the life Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi.

The News Minute in its story identified the civilian seen comforting the injured pilot as Chetan Kumar B.M. (22) a student in the area who was one of the first to reach the crash spot.

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After the incident, Wing Commander Shelke met Kumar while recovering at a hospital in Bengaluru.

While unverified reports allege Pakistani forces shot down Indian Rafale jets in a counter-strike, there has been no official confirmation as of the publication of this story.