FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A C-17 Aircraft Landing?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A video shared on Facebook claims to show a pilot saving a C-17 from crashing and landing it correctly.

Verdict: False

The video is from a flight simulator. It is not genuine footage.

Fact Check:

The C-17 Globemaster III is a cargo aircraft used by the United States Air Force, according to a US Air Force fact sheet. Over 223 C-17s are used by the Air Force and are considered by the Air Force as the “most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force.”

The Facebook video, viewed more than 1,000,000 times, claims to show a C-17 almost crash landing. The video’s caption reads, “Pilot Become Hero After Saving Military Aircraft C-17 From Landing Gear Failure.”

The claim, though, is false. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the video was posted to YouTube Sept. 12 with the same title. The title, however, discloses that the video footage was taken from X-11, a flight simulator published by Laminar Research.

“This is only in the flight simulation. This situation is not real! Everything in this video doesn’t happen in real life, because this situation is just a challenge for me to try in the flight simulation,” reads the video description. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Volodymyr Zelenskyy Dancing With A Rocket Launcher?)

Social media users have been using footage from flight simulators and other video games, such as ARMA 3, and claiming it shows real-life incidents, according to Eurogamer. Check Your Fact recently debunked a video claiming to show a destroyed Russian nuclear aircraft carrier.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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