Image of Bangladesh air force jet that crashed into a school

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has reviewed this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team conducted a reverse image and keyword search to investigate the viral image.

Posts from users on multiple social media platforms on July 21, 2025, shared an image of a crashed aircraft in the middle of a field, claiming that it was of the same day’s Bangladesh accident. However, the image is fake.

At least 25 children were among the 27 dead pulled from scorched buildings after a Bangladesh Air Force jet on a training mission crashed into a college and school campus in Dhaka with 88 people being treated in hospital.

The F-7 BGI aircraft crashed soon after it took off at 1:06pm from the airbase in Kurmitola in the capital on a routine training mission. The military said the plane experienced a mechanical failure.

HOW IT STARTED

On July 21, an image of a Bangladesh Air Force jet was shared on X with the caption: “Big breaking news: Bangladesh Air Force Chinese-built FT-7BGI fighter jet crashes near Milestone College’s Uttara campus, Dhaka. Pilot killed.”

The photo showed an aircraft, mostly intact, in the middle of a ground with building blocks around it, one of which was damaged. Debris can also be seen near the jet, while some people stand at a distance.

The post gained over 147,000 views.

The image was widely shared on X by other users as can be seen here, here and here, gaining 10,000, 12,000 and 13,000 views, respectively.

The image was also shared on YouTube as can be seen here, here and here.

The image was also used by Pakistani media outlet Aik News.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the fatal crash.

Observing the image showed various inconsistencies. Firstly, the ground in the image was different from the actual crash site, as seen in photos taken by international news agencies and local Bangladeshi media outlets.

The said image showed a complex with two building blocks, while a photo by international news wires agency Reuters of the crash scene, taken on July 21, showed one building block with scores of people gathered and an ambulance sifting through the crowd.

Videos of the crash also showed a big fire near a lawn emitting a thick plume of smoke into the sky, as crowds watched from a distance.

Moreover, the aircraft in the image appeared only partially damaged despite news reports confirming that the jet had almost completely burned. Reuters footage showed the mangled remains of the plane, which appeared to have rammed into the side of a building, damaging iron grills and creating a gaping hole in the structure.

Images of the crash site from Bloomberg, AFP, BBC and other news outlets also corroborated the same.

Additionally, the tail number of the jet in the image did not correspond with the F-7 BGI series used by the Bangladesh Air Force. The aircraft also lacks the “Bangladesh Air Force” markings typically seen on F-7 BGI jets.

Examining the image using AI detection tools showed that Hive Moderation flagged it with a 43.9 per cent likelihood of being AI-generated, while Cantilux highlighted that the image had a 70pc probability.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral image shows the Bangladesh Air Force jet that recently crashed in Dhaka is false.

The image is fake with neither the building structures nor the jet resembling the actual visuals from the crash site.

Evidence and References

July 21, 2025, Reuters news report:
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/least-19-killed-scores-injured-bangladesh-air-force-jet-crashes-into-college-2025-07-21/

July 21, 2025, Reuters video:
https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW141521072025RP1/

Reuters YouTube livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDuODtXCho0

July 21, 2025, Bloomberg news report:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-21/chinese-made-f-7-jet-crashes-on-school-in-bangladesh-16-killed

July 22, 2025, France 24 news report:
https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20250722-death-toll-in-bangladesh-fighter-jet-crash-into-a-school-rises-to-27

July 22, 2025, BBC news report:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl7pwqewdo

Bangladesh Defence blogpost:
https://bangladeshdefence.blogspot.com/2014/04/f-7-bgi-of-bangladesh-air-force.html