However, hours later, multiple handles propagating pro-Islamabad narratives flooded social media with misinformation. “Just in, 03 Indian Airforce aircraft crashed within two hours due to unknown electronic interference,” several posts claimed.
Screengrab: X/@ANI
A day after an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft crashed during a routine training sortie near Tambaram in Chennai’s Chengalpattu district, several pro-Pakistani social media handles circulated false claims that three IAF jets had gone down within two hours due to “unknown electronic interference.” Indian authorities have dismissed these assertions as completely baseless and fake.
On Friday, an IAF Pilatus PC-7 aircraft on a routine training mission crashed near Tambaram in Chennai. In a statement issued on X, the IAF wrote: “An Indian Air Force PC-7 Mk II trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission and crashed at about 1425 hrs near Tambaram, Chennai, today. The pilot ejected safely, and no damage to civilian property has been reported. A Court of Inquiry has been constituted to ascertain the cause of the accident.”
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However, hours later, multiple handles propagating pro-Islamabad narratives flooded social media with misinformation. “Just in, 03 Indian Airforce aircraft crashed within two hours due to unknown electronic interference,” several posts claimed.
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Flagging the fabricated reports, the Press Information Bureau’s fact-check team clarified that the claim was fake. “The Indian Air Force has officially stated that a PC-7 Mk II trainer aircraft met with an accident during a routine training mission near Tambaram, Chennai, today. The pilot ejected safely, and no damage to civilian property has been reported,” its post on X read.
“Do not fall for misinformation. Always verify such claims with official sources before believing or sharing them,” the handle urged users.
Earlier this year, on 6 February, a twin-seat Mirage 2000 trainer of the IAF went down in an agricultural field near Sunari village in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district during a routine training mission. On 2 April, another IAF trainer, a twin-seat Jaguar, crashed around 9:30 pm during a night training exercise near Suvarda village in Jamnagar district. Later, on 9 July, a twin-seat Jaguar trainer jet crashed around midday in an agricultural area in Rajasthan’s Churu district.
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