2019 video shared as recent episode of severe turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight

What is the claim?

A video depicting people in a flight experiencing turbulence with objects falling around them has been circulated with the claim that it portrays the severe turbulence encountered on the Boeing 777-300ER Singapore Airlines flight on May 21, 2024.

This flight, en route from London to Singapore, made an emergency landing in Bangkok after encountering sudden turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar. One passenger lost their life, and 30 others sustained injuries in the incident, as reported by Reuters.

A user shared the video (archived here) with the claim, “Video from the Singapore flight from London, as it hit an air pocket and dropped 6000 feet in a few seconds, causing multiple injuries and a fatality.” 

Screenshot of the viral video circulating online. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. The video actually showcases turbulence experienced on an ALK Airlines plane in 2019, not on the Singapore Airlines flight in 2024.

Here are the facts

Upon conducting a reverse image search, it was discovered that the same video was previously shared on Sky News' official X account (archived here) on June 17, 2019. The post indicates that the turbulent incident occurred on a flight from Pristina, Kosovo, to EuroAirport Basel in Switzerland. Ten individuals were injured, and the video captures a cabin crew member being thrown towards the ceiling of the aircraft due to the turbulence.

ABC News also featured the same video in a report, mentioning that a passenger on the flight recorded the turbulence episode. A spokesperson from EuroAirport informed ABC News that "the flight from Pristina with ALK Airlines encountered turbulence in the air approximately 20 minutes before landing." This information was also reported by News.com.au.

This confirms that the video dates back to 2019 and is not recent.

The verdict

A turbulence incident shown onborad an ALK Airlines flight traveling from Pristina to Switzerland in 2019 has been misrepresented as depicting the recent turbulence episode experienced on a Singapore Airlines flight. The video is not recent. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.