As fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups intensified in parts of Myanmar, an old photo of a damaged helicopter gained attention in Facebook groups suggesting it was a recently shot down military plane. However, the photo was published in 2020 in a report about a helicopter that suffered a mechanical failure during takeoff.
“What is this? I’m asking because I really don’t know what it is,” read a Burmese-language Facebook post with a laughing emoji.
It showed a photo of a badly damaged helicopter without a tail rotor.
The post was shared on November 1, 2024, as Myanmar’s junta was fighting ethnic armed groups across the country (archived link).
The Southeast Asian country has been plagued by conflict between the military and several armed groups opposed to its rule since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.
The junta’s brutal crackdown on anti-coup protesters has forced thousands of young people to join the newly formed “People’s Defense Forces” and reignited fighting with ethnic armed groups.
The Facebook post was shared by an anti-junta account with 17,000 followers, which appeared to poke fun at the state of the military.
The photo spread across anti-junta Facebook accounts shortly after a similar false claim emerged in the form of a video showing a junta helicopter being stormed by the Arakan Army (AA) ethnic armed group in the restive Rakhine state in Myanmar.
Some Facebook users appeared to believe the photo showed a military helicopter downed by rebels.
“It’s so sad, only one got hit?” one person commented.
“It’s a roast bird that the Rakhines enjoy,” wrote another.
‘Fried bird’ is common online slang in Myanmar to refer to a military aircraft, while ‘the Rakhines’ appears to refer to the AA.
‘Mechanical failure’
A reverse image search on Google found the photo published on the website of Myanmar’s Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services (CINCDS) on March 7, 2020 (archived link).
It appeared in a statement about a helicopter crash entitled: “Helicopter runs aground due to mechanical problems during takeoff, slightly injuring two pilots.”
The statement said the plane was carrying military attachments and reporters covering a drug bust in Kutkai Township in Myanmar’s Shan State.
The helicopter suffered a mechanical failure during takeoff, the report said.
AFP published a photo of the damaged aircraft on March 6, 2020, taken from a different angle (archived link).
The photo’s caption says it shows a damaged helicopter “after an accident while about to take off from Kawnghka, Shan State on March 6, 2020.”
Below is a comparison between the photo from the CINCDS website (left) and the photo from AFP (right), with the similarity highlighted.
“There were four helicopters that day with military diplomats from embassies, military officials and journalists on board,” a police spokesperson said. AFP correspondent who covered the press conference on the anti-narcotic campaign at the time.
“The helicopter carrying the military diplomat fell slowly a few minutes after taking off from the ground.”
