2013 Video Of Cargo Plane Crash In Afghanistan Shared As Nepal

BOOM found that the video shows explosion of a Boeing 747 cargo jet in Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan on 29 April 2013.

Soon after reports of the plane crash in Nepal's Pokhara hit headlines, several unverified visuals started doing the rounds on social media. Among them, a Facebook Live footage of one Sonu Jaiswal, who was onboard the aircraft was also viral. BOOM was able to verify that the viral video was live-streamed on Facebook by Jaiswal, one of the Indian passengers from Uttar Pradesh, who was killed in the crash.

Read BOOM Verified's report here.

At least 70 people died after the domestic passenger flight owned by Yeti Airlines crashed in Pokhara, Nepal on January 15. The flight was carrying 72 passengers from Nepal's capital Kathmandu. This is the second deadliest crash in Nepal since 1992 which claimed 167 lives on board.

The video has been shared with a caption in Hindi, “Very sad news has been received about the casualties of the plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal. The four Indians who died in the accident are residents of Ghazipur. Deepest condolences to the bereaved family members, may God give place to the pious souls in his holy feet. Om Shanti”

(Original caption in Hindi: “पोखरा, नेपाल में हुई विमान दुर्घटना में कई यात्रियों के हताहत होने का अत्यंत दुःखद समाचार प्राप्त हुआ है।हादसे में मरने वाले चार भारतीय गाजीपुर के रहने वाले हैं। शोकाकुल परिजनों के प्रति गहरी संवेदना, ईश्वर पुण्यात्माओं को अपने श्री चरणों में स्थान दें।। ॐ शांति #NepalPlaneCrash”)

The same video was earlier viral with the claim as a plane crash of Ethiopian Airline heading to Nairobi.

BOOM had debunked the video in March, 2019.

The video was tweeted by Shrikant Tyagi, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader.

Click here to watch the video and here for an archived link.

Fact Check

BOOM ran a reverse image search on keyframes of the video and found news reports about it.

International media outlet CNN uploaded the video on YouTube on May 2, 2013 with the title “How the 747 crashed in Afghanistan”

Starting from 22 seconds the report explains the reason for the crash and stated that the visual was recorded by a vehicle's dashboard camera. Read the CNN report here.

According to New York Times report published on June 5, 2013, the Boeing 747 cargo jet exploded at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. A joint investigation by the US and Afghanistan revealed later that it crashed as a result of shifting weight inside the cargo bay.

A detail report by Associated Press published on The Guardian on July 15, 2015 mentioned that, “the National Transportation Safety Board said an improperly secured mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, known as an MRAP, went through the bulkhead and disabled two hydraulic systems, making the aircraft uncontrollable.”

The report shows the same visual of the plane crashing at Bagram airbase on April 29 2013.