Dash cam video of South Florida plane crash is real

Residents and drivers near Cresthaven, Florida, saw a private jet plunge into a roadway on Sunday, November 1. A dash cam captured the Learjet 60 hitting the pavement at high speed, creating a crater and a large fireball. The crash killed all nine people on board, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The video quickly spread across social media platforms. Because the footage was so dramatic, many users on X claimed the clip was generated by artificial intelligence. One popular post from November 1 asserted the video was '100% AI Generated' and argued that detection software proved the plane was fake. Several other accounts shared similar doubts about the clip's authenticity.

Fact-checkers from PolitiFact reviewed the footage and confirmed it is genuine. The original video was posted by Aki Kuusisto, a digital creator from West Palm Beach, on Facebook shortly after the crash. Kuusisto noted in the comments that installing the dash cam was not his plan for that day. Major news organizations, including the Associated Press, CNN, CBS News, and the BBC, have also shared the verified clip.

Some users relied on Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, to support their claims. Screen recordings showed the tool flagging the footage as AI-generated content. However, when PolitiFact submitted the original file to the same tool, it did not flag the video as artificial or manipulated. Darren Linvill, co-director of the Media Forensics Hub at Clemson University, explained that people have become so used to AI-generated fakes that they sometimes reject real events. He described this skepticism as the 'liar's dividend.'

Federal investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash. Tom Chapman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters on Monday, November 2, that the aircraft encountered turbulence and ice before impact. Timothy Monville, who is leading the NTSB investigation, said the agency has just begun documenting the incident. He noted that recovering the major wreckage from the roadway crater will be a several-day process.

Linvill added that some accounts questioning the video were amplified by bot networks. He pointed to a specific account that promoted the narrative and was linked to Russian Storm-1516, an influence campaign using influencers to spread false claims in the United States. The NTSB continues its work on the scene to establish a timeline of events.