The Video Of An Aircraft’s Window Panel Collapse Is Unrelated To Air India’s Phuket-Delhi Flight That Dropped 300 Feet Due To Mid-Air Turbulence.

Recently, mid-air turbulence caused Air India’s Phuket-Delhi flight (AI2379) to drop 300 feet. The flight landed safely at Delhi, but 10 passengers and 4 crew members were taken for a medical check-up after the incident. Against this backdrop, a video showing a window panel of an aircraft falling off went viral on social media. Sharing the video, users claimed that the video shows the Phuket-Delhi flight that dropped 300 feet due to mid-air turbulence.

Instagram Link | Archived Link.

However, upon investigation, we found that the claim was misleading. The video is old. Here’s the fact check.

Fact Check 

We started our investigation by taking screenshots from the viral video and conducting a reverse image search. This led us to a report published in The Times of India on April 22, 2018, that contained an image similar to the screenshots from the viral video.

The report read, “An Air India aircraft flying from Amritsar to Delhi on Thursday (April 19) ran into such severe turbulence that three passengers suffered injuries, the inside part of a window panel came off and some overhead oxygen masks got deployed.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANI) had a very turbulent flight for 10 to 15 minutes during climb phase from 8,000 feet to 21,000 feet, the cause of which is being probed by the airline and aviation agencies.”

We found a report published in NDTV on April 22, 2018, that contained the viral video. 

The report read, “The pilot commanding the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner that hit severe air turbulence between Amritsar and New Delhi on Thursday reportedly had “never seen anything like this ever”. The incident has been described as a “freak kind of severe turbulence”. Three passengers were injured when flight AI-462, a 6-year-old Boeing 787, one of the most modern jets in civil aviation, carrying 236 passengers and six crew members, encountered an extended period of turbulence lasting approximately 15 minutes. A video shot by a passenger on board shows terrified passengers being consoled and assisted by the cabin crew.”

Another report on the official YouTube channel of India Today on April 23, 2018, can be seen below.

The description of the video read, “Passengers on a Delhi-bound Air India Dreamliner had a mid-air scare on Thursday as the plane experienced turbulence for at least 15 minutes. Three passengers were hurt, with one being injured by a collapsing window panel. Watch the harrowing video here.”

This makes it clear that the viral video is old and unrelated to the recent turbulence incident on Air India’s Phuket-Delhi flight.

Conclusion 

From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The viral video doesn’t show Air India’s Phuket-Delhi flight that dropped 300 feet due to mid-air turbulence recently. This is an old video showing a window panel of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Amritsar to Delhi, collapsing during a high level turbulence.