Fact Check: IAF Tejas crash video? No, clip shows Polish Air Force F-16 crashing
A video claiming to show footage of the IAF Tejas fighter jet crash during the Dubai Airshow is going viral.
By - M Ramesh Naik
Claim:The video captures the moment when the IAF Tejas jet crashed during the Dubai Airshow on November 21.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows a Polish Air Force F-16 crashing during an airshow rehearsal in Poland, not the IAF Tejas fighter jet.
Hyderabad: On November 21, an Indian Air Force Tejas fighter jet crashed during a flying demonstration at the Dubai Airshow. Thick black smoke rose from the crash site at Al Maktoum International Airport as the crowd watched in shock. The IAF confirmed that the pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, died in the incident.
In the backdrop of this tragedy, a video began circulating across social media claiming to show the actual crash of the Tejas aircraft at Dubai. In the viral clip, a fighter jet is seen performing a barrel-roll manoeuvre before losing altitude and crashing to the ground, bursting into flames and skidding across the runway.
An Instagram user shared the clip with the caption, “At 2.08 pm on Friday, the Indian Air Force’s Tejas jet was performing an aerial manoeuvre… the next minute, it appeared to lose balance before nosediving and crashing… We lost our brave soldier.” (Archive)
The video also carries a text overlay saying, “Tejas Crash at Dubai Air Show. A Heartbreaking Moment for India.”
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The clip does not show the Tejas crash in Dubai. The visuals are from an entirely different incident involving a Polish Air Force F-16.
A reverse image search of a keyframe from the viral video led us to a YouTube Short uploaded by NBC News on August 29.
The clip was titled, ‘Video captures the moment an F-16 jet crashes during preparations for an air show in Poland.’ The description confirms that the Polish F-16 crashed during a rehearsal for an airshow and that the pilot was killed.
A keyword search further led us to a report by NDTV World published on the same day with the headline, ‘F-16 Pilot Killed After Fighter Jet Crashes In Poland During Airshow Rehearsal.’
According to the report, a Polish Air Force F-16 crashed in Radom, Central Poland, killing a Polish Army pilot. Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz described it as a “great loss for the Air Force.”
We also found other reports covering the same incident, seen here and here.
The viral video does not show the crash of the IAF Tejas in Dubai. It is footage of a Polish Air Force F-16 that crashed during an airshow rehearsal in Poland in August 2025.
Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the claim is false.
