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Fact check: Clip of plane crashing is from a video game

Dezimey Kum, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Video shows the world’s largest plane crashing

Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the world's largest plane, the Antonov An-225 "Mriya," was destroyed when Russian forces attacked the airport where the aircraft was reportedly undergoing repairs.

Nevertheless, a video that purports to show the plane crashing into a runway has been circulating widely on social media.

"World's Biggest Airplane Emergency Landing After Four Engines Exploding," reads the title of the four-minute video, which was posted to Facebook on June 23.

Several commenters on the post appear to believe the video is real. The video accumulated more than 7,000 reactions within four days.

"It's frightening to see it how the people on board felt is unimaginable," one commenter wrote.

“Terrifying for all aboard. I know pilot and crew very meticulously trained but I can’t imagine any training prepping them for the real-life drama. Well done majorly to pilot who kept that safe,” another commenter added.

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But the video does not show an authentic plane crash.

The footage is from a popular video game, Grand Theft Auto V. The Facebook user who shared the video was playing the game.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the claim for comment.

Footage is from video game

The footage is a recording from the action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto V. USA TODAY, like other independent fact-checking organizations, found similar clips of the plane crashing on YouTube by other game players.

Funan Gaming, the Facebook page that posted the video, identifies itself as a "gaming video creator" and often uploads clips of aircraft crashes from the video game.

In the video game, the world’s largest cargo plane, an Antonov-225 named "Mriya," crash lands in the fictional city "Los Santos" with all four engines on fire.

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Only one Atonov-225 has been completely built, according to Air Charter Service. However, the aircraft was destroyed in February during the early stages of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows the world's largest plane crashing. The footage is from a video game, and the aircraft was destroyed earlier this year after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Our fact-checking sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Clip of plane crashing is from a video game