The internet managed to get this one wrong in both directions. At the same time.
On 1 November 2026, a Learjet 60 heading from Austin, Texas to the Bahamas crashed into a neighbourhood near Cresthaven in Palm Beach County, Florida. Everyone on board died, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. Within hours, two opposite fakes were going viral: a "sharp photo" showing the jet with a missing wing, and posts claiming the real crash video was "100% AI". Here's the Florida Learjet crash photo fact check.
VERDICT: FALSE. The viral sharp photo is AI-edited. The real dashcam video shows both wings. And that video? Totally real.
The Claim
An X post by an account named "Tiffany Savage" (@patriot_savvy) shared a crisp image of the falling jet with the caption: "Is there a wing missing? Also, the engine cowling on the right is missing." The image showed a missing wing, a deformed engine and a bent tail.
What We Found
1. The image carries an AI watermark. Lead Stories ran it through Google's SynthID Detector, which looks for an invisible watermark created by Google DeepMind and used by partner tools from Google, OpenAI, Nvidia and Kakao. The result: "made or edited" with OpenAI tools.
2. The real footage shows both wings. The sharp image looks like a screenshot of the original dashcam video that someone "cleaned up" with AI. Lead Stories notes that freezing the real video a fraction of a second later clearly shows both wings. AI upscaling did what it often does: it invented details.
3. The video itself is real. This is where the second fake comes in. Some X posts claimed the whole crash video was AI, using screen recordings of the Hive Moderation detector. PolitiFact traced the footage to Aki Kuusisto, a West Palm Beach creator who first posted it on Facebook from his dash cam. AP, CNN, CBS News and the BBC all shared it. When PolitiFact ran the original through Hive, it wasn't flagged. PolitiFact rated the "100% AI" claim Pants on Fire.
Bonus fake: posts also claimed rapper Bad Bunny died in the crash. Hindustan Times reports no credible outlet has said so, and called it false.
Why This Happens: The "Liar's Dividend"
Darren Linvill of Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub told PolitiFact that people have become so used to fakes that they now disbelieve real footage. That's the liar's dividend. Meanwhile, AI "enhance" tools quietly change details in real photos. It's a lose-lose for the truth unless you check.
PolitiFact also said one account questioning the video had been amplified by bot accounts linked to Russia's Storm-1516 influence campaign.
How to Check Crash and Disaster Images Yourself
- Find the original. Who filmed it first? Here, it was a named dashcam owner.
- Compare frames. If a "sharper" version shows different details from the video, it's been edited.
- Use watermark checks like SynthID Detector, but don't treat AI detectors as perfect. Hive flagged a screen recording, not the original.
- Wait for credible outlets and official investigators. The NTSB says it's still investigating; it mentioned turbulence and ice but hasn't given a cause.
Our full guide on how to check fake news walks through reverse image search step by step. And yes, the same AI editors behind this are in the AI tools everyone's using.
Final Verdict
| Claim | Verdict |
|---|---|
| The sharp photo shows the real crashed Learjet with a missing wing | False (AI-edited) |
| The dashcam crash video is AI-generated | False (authentic) |
| Bad Bunny died in the crash | False |
Nine people lost their lives here. The least we can do is share the truth about it. More checks in News and Technology.
FAQ
Is the viral sharp photo of the Florida Learjet crash real?
No. Lead Stories found a SynthID watermark showing the image was made or edited with OpenAI tools, and the real dashcam video shows both wings.
Was the Palm Beach plane crash video AI-generated?
No. PolitiFact rated that claim Pants on Fire. The dashcam footage came from West Palm Beach creator Aki Kuusisto and was shared by AP, CNN, CBS News and the BBC.
What is SynthID?
An invisible watermark developed by Google DeepMind. Partner tools from Google, OpenAI, Nvidia and Kakao add it, and Google's detector can check for it.
Did Bad Bunny die in the Florida Learjet crash?
No credible outlet has reported that. Hindustan Times called the claim false.
