Fact Check: Old Video Of Air India Plane On Fire At Muscat Airport Resurfaces With False Claims
Vishvas News, in its investigation, found that the viral photo is not recent, but from an earlier incident. The image shows a fire that broke out in the engine of an Air India Express plane bound for Kochi at Muscat airport. However, it is now being falsely shared as a recent fire incident in an Air India aircraft at Delhi airport.
- By: Jyoti Kumari
- Published: Jul 28, 2025 at 10:39 AM
- Updated: Jul 28, 2025 at 02:31 PM
New Delhi (Vishvas News). A fire broke out in the auxiliary power unit of an Air India aircraft at Delhi airport. The accident occurred during the aircraft’s landing. All passengers and crew members are safe. Now, in connection with this, a photo is going viral on social media showing smoke coming out from the front section of the plane. Some people can also be seen standing nearby in the photo. Users are claiming that this photo is recent and depicts the fire on the AI-315 aircraft in Delhi.
Vishvas News, in its investigation, found the viral claim to be misleading. The image dates back to 2022, when an Air India Express plane bound for Kochi caught fire in its engine at Muscat Airport. The same old picture is now being shared as being from Delhi Airport.
What is going viral?
Facebook user ‘Sahib Sandhu Bhadaur’ posted a viral post on July 22, 2025, writing, “Air India flight AI 315 caught fire upon landing in Delhi, passengers safe.”
Many users on social media have shared this photo, claiming it to be recent. See the archived link of the post here.
Investigation
We used the Google Lens tool to investigate the viral image and found a related news report on the website freepressjournal.in, published on September 15, 2022. The report stated, “Flight IX 442, flying from Muscat to Kochi, was about to take off with 141 passengers and six crew members on board when another pilot on the taxiway reported smoke. At least 14 passengers suffered ‘minor injuries’ while being evacuated from the Boeing 737.”
We found the news related to the picture on the official YouTube channel of OTV News English. As per the details provided with the video uploaded on September 14, 2022, “Passengers of an Air India flight were evacuated safely after an engine fire at Muscat Airport.”
The image was referenced in a news report published by Dainik Jagran, published on September 14, 2022. According to the report, “A major accident was averted at Muscat airport. The engine of the Air India Express flight caught fire. The flight was cancelled after the fire. This flight was coming to Kochi.”
During the search, we found many news items related to the viral picture.
We shared the viral picture with Manish Mishra, Senior Correspondent at Dainik Jagran, covering Delhi Airport. He confirmed that this picture is not of the recent Air India aircraft fire incident in Delhi. The recent fire broke out in the Aircraft’s Electrical Unit (APU), near the tail wing, unlike what is shown in the photo here.
Continuing our investigation, we searched for the recent accident at Delhi Airport and found a news report published on 22 July 2025. It stated that, “On 22 July 2025, a fire broke out in the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) of Air India flight AI 315 coming from Hong Kong to Delhi after landing. The accident occurred when the passengers were disembarking. The aircraft suffered minor damage in this accident, but all the passengers and crew are safe.”
Finally, we scanned the Facebook profile of the user who shared the post and found that the user has 21000 followers.
Conclusion: Vishvas News, in its investigation, found that the viral photo is not recent, but from an earlier incident. The image shows a fire that broke out in the engine of an Air India Express plane bound for Kochi at Muscat airport. However, it is now being falsely shared as a recent fire incident in an Air India aircraft at Delhi airport.
- Claim Review : Air India flight AI 315 caught fire upon landing in Delhi, passengers safe
- Claimed By : Facebook user ‘Sahib Sandhu Bhadaur’
- Fact Check : Misleading
Know the truth! If you have any doubts about any information or a rumor, do let us know!
Knowing the truth is your right. If you feel any information is doubtful and it can impact the society or nation, send it to us by any of the sources mentioned below.
