Lighthouse Journalism found several claims amidst the India and Pakistan conflict, stating that the Pakistani Armed Forces have captured an Indian pilot, especially a woman fighter pilot. During the investigation, we found the viral claims to be false.
Claim 1:
X user M A Khan shared the viral pictures and claim on his X profile.
Investigation:
We ran a reverse image search on both images, one by one.
We found the first image on the website of starofmysore.com.
The report stated: Two pilots of a light-weight Indian Air Force (IAF) Kiran Jet Trainer aircraft (HAL HJT-16 Kiran) had a providential escape after ejecting themselves from their plane before it crashed and turned into a fireball this noon. IAF sources and the Police said that the pilots have been identified as 50-year-old Wing Commander Tejpal, the chief trainer, and 28-year-old Bhoomika, the trainee. The plane took off from Bengaluru this morning for a routine sortie.
We found the other picture, uploaded on Instagram on December 12, 2023. The caption said: Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh: India’s First Woman Rafale Pilot
Claim 2:
X user Bangladesh 2.0 shared the video featuring a person using a parachute.
Investigation:
We found that the video was posted before Operation Sindoor on a YouTube channel.
Claim 3:
X user @mog_china shared a video claiming that it shows a captured Indian pilot.
Investigation:
Visuals show that the pilot mentioned here is Indian fighter pilot Abhinandan Varthaman.
We found the screenshot of the video in an article from 2019.
Claim 4:
Facebook user Asif Rasheed Khan shared a viral video featuring a pilot on the ground.
Investigation:
We ran a reverse image search on the keyframes obtained from the video, and found the first screenshot in a news report on theprint.in.
We also found a video about the same on the YouTube channel of The Tribune.
The picture shows: Pilot of a Jaguar aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that crashed, in Panchkula district, Haryana on Friday, March 7, 2025.
During a press briefing, Air Marshal AK Bharti confirmed that all Indian pilots are back home.
Pakistani officials, too, during a press conference confirmed that they don’t have any Indian pilot in their custody.
Conclusion: The viral claims suggesting that an Indian pilot was captured by Pakistan during the conflict are false. No Indian pilot has been apprehended by Pakistani forces.
