FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show The China Eastern Airlines Plane Crash?

Trevor Schakohl | Legal Reporter

A video shared on Facebook allegedly shows footage of the recent China Eastern Airlines plane crash.

Verdict: False

The footage, filmed in 2019, actually shows a crash involving a Russian airline. The video has nothing to do with the recent incident in China.

Fact Check:

China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 crashed in a mountainous region of the Guangxi province of China on Monday, killing all 132 people on board, according to BBC News.

One video shared on Facebook claims to show footage of the incident. It shows a plane engulfed in fire skidding to a halt on a runway and people using an inflatable slide to escape the burning wreck. Some of the footage is from inside the burning plane. “China Eastern Plane Crash,” reads the post’s caption.

The video shared on Facebook does not show the recent crash, however. DW News posted a video on its verified YouTube account in May 2019 that includes the same clips featured in the Facebook video, including the footage from inside the plane. The DW News description explains the footage stems from a May 2019 incident in which an Aeroflot airliner crashed at Russia’s Sheremetyevo airport, killing 41 people. The flight’s crew reported an unspecified “malfunction” and was attempting an emergency landing when the plane caught fire, NBC News reported.

Similar footage of the incident was published by The Moscow Times. Aeroflot’s logo is clearly visible in both The Moscow Times video and the video shared on Facebook. (RELATED: Did A Ukrainian Farmer Capture A Russian Military Jet?)

Check Your Fact recently debunked a video that claimed to show footage taken inside the China Eastern Airlines plane moments before it crashed but actually showed a simulation of another, unrelated plane crash.

Trevor Schakohl

Legal Reporter
Follow Trevor on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/tschakohl

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