Fact-check: Viral 'Pakistani pilot' photo is actually from Turkey
The image was taken in December 2016 after a Turkish fighter jet crashed.
Updated Thursday May 15 2025
An Indian news channel aired a photo on May 8, claiming it showed a Pakistani pilot captured by the Indian military during a recent India-Pakistan conflict.
The claim is false. The image is from Turkey and has no connection to either India or Pakistan.
Claim
On May 8, Zee Rajasthan News, an Indian news channel, broadcast a photo during its live coverage of the India-Pakistan conflict, alleging it showed a Pakistani pilot captured in India. The clip remains available on the channel’s official YouTube page and can be seen at the 2-minute mark.
Similar claims were shared across social media platforms here, here and here.
Fact
A reverse image and keyword search reveal that the photo is from Turkey, not India.
The image was taken in December 2016 after a Turkish fighter jet crashed in southeastern Turkey, prompting the pilot to eject. The photo was published by Getty Images and shows Turkish military personnel near the crash site.
You can view the original image here, which is captioned: “Turkish military personnel arrive near a Turkish F-16 warplane which crashed in Diyarbakir on December 12, 2016. A Turkish fighter jet crashed near an airport in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, the military said, but the pilot was able to safely eject from the plane.”
Verdict: The viral image claiming to show a Pakistani pilot captured by the Indian Army is false. The photo actually dates back to 2016 and depicts the aftermath of a Turkish fighter jet crash in southeastern Turkey.
Follow us on @GeoFactCheck on X (Twitter) and @geo_factcheck on Instagram. If our readers detect any errors, we encourage them to contact us at [email protected]