Did a video show a Pakistani pilot lying on the ground after being shot down during military skirmishes between India and Pakistan in May 2025? No, that's not true: the footage had been online since mid-April, 2025, and appears to relate to an accidental crash near the city of Vehari, on April 15. According to reports, the two Pakistani Air Force pilots ejected safely and survived with minor injuries.
The video was posted to X on May 7, 2025 (archived here), amid escalating border skirmishes between India and Pakistan, along with the caption "Pakistani official down", creating the clear impression that the video showed a pilot whose aircraft had been shot down as part of those clashes.
The video can be viewed in full below:
Pakistani official down.
-- Sandeep Phogat (@MrSandeepPhogat) May 7, 2025
Give him Fantastic Tea ☕️ pic.twitter.com/S29n8EoxbT
In reality, the video had already been online for three weeks and therefore could not have come from the May 2025 clashes. The earliest version we found was posted to YouTube on April 15, 2025.
On that same date, a Pakistani Air Force Dassault Mirage III fighter aircraft was reported to have crashed near the city of Vehari, Pakistan, after a technical malfunction.
According to the newspaper Dawn, the two pilots -- aged 45 and 24 -- successfully ejected and were treated for minor injuries after landing.
