Fact Check: Image shows pilot Shivangi Singh after ejecting from Rafale jet shot down by Pakistan? No, the image is from 2023

While India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire, a disinformation campaign has been playing out on social media over the past three days. Several Pakistani accounts amplified false claims about shooting down Rafale jets and capturing Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, the first Indian woman to fly the French-made, single-seat Rafale fighter jet.

One widely circulated video showed a person entangled in power lines, claimed to be Shivangi Singh, who had ejected from a Rafale jet allegedly downed by Pakistan. However, NewsMeter found that the video actually shows a paraglider stuck in power lines in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, in March 2025. The individual was safely rescued. Read the fact-check here.

Now, an image is being circulated with similar claims. It shows a female pilot lying on the ground, with captions claiming it to be the “first image released” of Shivangi Singh after her Rafale jet was shot down in Pakistan.

One X user wrote, “Initial image released of a female Indian Shivani Singh Rafale pilot shot down in Pakistan. #OperationBunyanulMarsoos #PakistanArmy”.(Archive)

Another post read, “Wing Commander Shivangi Singh has been arrested by Pakistan after her fighter jet was taken down by the Pakistan Army. She must be given full respect as a war prisoner. Welcome to Pakistan, Didi.”(Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim to be false. The image is from 2023 and shows a pilot who ejected from a training aircraft that crashed in Karnataka.

A reverse image search led us to the uncropped version of the photo, posted by an Instagram user on June 1, 2023. According to the caption, the image shows two IAF pilots—Wing Commander Tejpal (50) and trainee Bhoomika (28)—who ejected from a Kiran Jet Trainer aircraft before it crashed near Bhogapura village in Chamarajanagar, Karnataka.

The aircraft, which had taken off from Bengaluru for a routine training sortie, turned into a fireball upon crashing. The pilots were later located on the ground, exhausted and injured, but alive.

The image also appeared in a Star of Mysore article dated June 1, 2023, titled “Trainer Jet Crashes in Chamarajanagar.” The article identified the pilots and quoted an eyewitness, Bhogapura Mahesh: “We heard a loud sound in the sky and saw the plane plummeting to the ground. We also saw two pilots ejecting with parachutes. We rushed to the spot and found the plane burning, but no one was there. Later, we found the pilots three to four kilometres away. My friend Chandru and I then called the police and the press.”

The Indian Express also reported the incident on June 2, 2023. The IAF confirmed the crash in a post on its official X handle on June 1, stating: “A Kiran trainer aircraft of the IAF crashed near Chamrajnagar, Karnataka today, while on a routine training sortie. Both aircrews ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident.

PIB clarification

On May 10, the official PIB Fact Check handle also clarified that the viral claims about Shivangi Singh’s capture in Pakistan were false.

Conclusion

The viral image does not show Shivangi Singh. It is an old photo from 2023, depicting trainee pilot Bhoomika after a training aircraft crash in Karnataka. Claims linking the image to a Rafale crash or Pakistani action are false.