FACT CHECK: Viral Image Claims To Show MH370 Airplane Wreck

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Twitter claims to show the wreck of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared in 2014.

Verdict: False

The image shows a plane that was scuttled off the coast of Aqaba. The wreckage of MH370 has not been found as of publishing time.

Fact Check:

MH370 disappeared in 2014, when it was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members, according to Newsweek. Following its disappearance, multiple theories have been prevented about what happened to the aircraft, the outlet reported.

The tweet claims that the image has been found “under ocean with no human skeleton.” The tweet has been viewed 32.5 million times. The tweet also has a “Community Notes” message attached to it, which is Twitter’s crowdsourced fact-checking system that allows users to write and vote on notes that adds context to tweets.

Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the image was likely taken from an April 2023 Instagram video from the Deep Blue Dive Center. The image caption reads, ‘Tristar Airplane Wreck Red Sea, Aqaba.” The Deep Blue Dive Center “offer high-quality services, including daily dive trips for certified divers, and professional training for scuba divers of all levels,” according to its website.

The Aqaba tourism page identifies the airplane as a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar. The MH370 aircraft was a Boeing 777, according to Britannica. (RELATED: Did The DOJ Release Jeffrey Epstein’s Flight Logs, ‘Which Appear To Be Nearly 96% Redacted?’)

“The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) scuttled A Lockheed L-1011 TriStar in the waters of the Red Sea next to King Abdullah Reef dive site, and adjacent to Aqaba Container Terminal,” reads the Aqaba tourism page.

There is no evidence that MH370 has been found as of publishing time.

The incorrect tweet also has a “Community Notes” message attached to it, which is Twitter’s crowdsourced fact-checking system that allows users to write and vote on notes that adds context to tweets. The Community Notes cites a June 2022 CNN article that describes the tourism site.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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