Fact Check: Viral video of two planes nearly colliding at Bhagalpur airport is a simulation video game clip
A viral video claims two planes almost collided while landing at Bhagalpur International Airport. However, investigation reveals the video is from the GTA 5 game, not a real incident;
A few weeks ago, an Air India flight 126 travelling from Chicago to Delhi was forced to turn around after multiple toilets were found clogged with plastic bags and rags. The plumbing issue rendered eight out of 12 toilets in business and economy class ‘unserviceable’.
After spending 10 hours in the air over the Atlantic Ocean near Greenland, the flight returned to Chicago due to passenger discomfort and safety concerns.
Recently, a video showing two planes coming dangerously close to each other while attempting to land at the airport is going viral on social media claiming that an aviation disaster was averted at Bhagalpur International Airport in Bihar.
The text overlaying the video states "Mid-Air Duel Over Sultanganj: Two Planes Battle for Landing at Bhagalpur International Airport"
Claim: “In yet another routine day at Bhagalpur International Airport, two aeroplanes found themselves in a friendly tussle for landing rights above the Sultanganj Aguani Bridge,” an Instagram user ‘bhagalpurairport’ posted a video with this caption on his social media account.
The viral claim link is here and the archive link here.
Here’s the screenshot of the viral post.
Fact Check:
During the investigation, the Telugupost fact check team found the claim of two aircrafts avoiding a collision while approaching the Bhagalpur International airport in Bihar to be false.
Before we began our investigation, we wanted to check if there is any airport in Bhagalpur at all. When we searched with relevant keywords, we found a Times of India article dated February 27, 2025 and it stated, “Airports Authority of India (AAI) has sent an expert team to Bhagalpur to assess the feasibility of a new greenfield airport at either Goradih or Sultanganj.”
The report further states, “Two sites are under consideration – 855 acres in Sultanganj and 660 acres in Goradih. This is in addition to the plan to repair Bhagalpur's defunct airfield at Zero Mile for small aircraft.”
When we continued our Google Search to find out if there’s any update on thai, we came across a news article on Patna Express which reported in January 30, 2025 with the headline ‘Bhagalpur Airport to get new runway…work to begin in March’
“The Road Construction Department (RCD) has taken significant steps toward improving Bhagalpur Airport’s infrastructure, signing a Rs 4 crore agreement with Devpura Infra Construction Private Limited for the construction of a new runway. The work is expected to commence in March 2025, with a planned completion time of three months,” it reported.
It is pretty clear that there’s no functional airport existing in Bhagalpur, however, a domestic airport has been planned for the city.
We then extracted the keyframes from the viral video and ran them through Google Reverse Image Search tool. We came across a YouTube link which contained the viral video.
The video was posted on 'Demolition World’ YouTube channel on January 13, 2025 with the title, "Two Planes Nearly Collide: The Scariest Moment in Aviation!"
We found a disclaimer in the description of the video which reads, “Disclaimer:- "I am not a pilot or aviation expert. This is "GTA 5" game video created for entertainment purposes only. Any similarities to real events are purely coincidental. Viewer discretion is advised."
We can find several Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) videos on this YouTube channel. These videos showcase impressive flight maneuvers, realistic simulations, or creative scenarios within the game's expansive environment.
In view of the above investigation and media reports, we conclude that the claim made in the viral video about the imminent plane crash is not about a real life incident. The viral video shows a clip from GTA (Grand Theft Auto) simulation games. Hence, the claim is fabricated and false.