Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
Relatives and friends perform last rites of the plane crash victims, on Jan.18, 2023, in Pokhara, Nepal. On Jan. 15, the flight plummeted into a gorge while on approach to the newly opened Pokhara International Airport, killing all 72 aboard. (AP)
Online video shows Russian plane crash from 2021, not the deadly 2023 crash in Nepal
If Your Time is short
- This video shows a 2021 plane crash in Russia, not the 2023 crash in Nepal.
A video shared on Facebook shows a plane flying in the distance before it catches fire, turns on its side and then nosedives into trees. An explosion follows, with a burst of flames and billowing black smoke.
"Nepal plane crash," a description of the video says in a Jan. 16 post.
News outlets reported that 72 people, including two U.S. citizens, were killed a day earlier when a Yeti Airlines flight crashed in Pokhara in Nepal.
But this video doesn’t show that.
Featured Fact-check
It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Video footage and still images published by news outlets including The Associated Press rebut the Facebook post’s claim that this crash happened in Nepal. Rather, the video showed a prototype military plane that crashed outside Moscow in August 2021, killing three people.
We rate claims the video is of the Nepal crash False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Jan. 16, 2023
KTAR News, Prototype military transport plane crashes outside Moscow, visited Jan. 20, 2023
The Associated Press, Prototype military plane crashes outside Moscow, kills 3, Aug. 17, 2021
The Moscow Times, 3 Dead After Russian Military Transport Plane Prototype Crashes Near Moscow, Aug. 17, 2021
Reuters, At least 68 killed in Nepal's worst air crash in three decades, Jan. 15, 2023
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
Online video shows Russian plane crash from 2021, not the deadly 2023 crash in Nepal
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.