Fact Check: Not ‘jugaad' from Bihar, this homemade aeroplane took off in Bangladesh

India Today

5 days ago

The idiom 'sky's the limit' was allegedly negated by a teenager from Bihar. If social media posts are to be believed, Avanish Kumar from Muzaffarpur built an aeroplane in just one week, using only scrap and Rs 7,000. Some claimed this homemade aircraft could reach up to 300 feet! A video circulating online showed the aeroplane lifting off the ground and flying as a huge crowd chased it. advertisementSharing the clip on X, one person wrote, 'Bihar teen Avanish Kumar has created a flying plane using only scrap in just a week at a cost of around Rs 7,000.' Some news outlets, like Times Now, India News, and News18 also published reports about this supposedly inspiring tale.
India Today Fact Check, however, found that this video has no connection to Bihar or India. This aircraft was built by Julhas Mollah of Bangladesh in about four years using nearly 8 lakh taka.Our ProbeReverse searching keyframes from the viral clip led us to a Facebook post from April 17. The post featured a better-quality version of the viral clip, which had the Bangla watermark of 'Krisan TV'. We found a Facebook account of the same name that had shared the viral video on March 9. Its caption stated that the video was from the Manikganj district of Bangladesh and noted that this plane was made by Julhas, the son of a farmer.According to Bangladeshi news reports, the aircraft soared in the skies over Jafarganj on March 4. Jafarganj is a village located in the Shibalaya subdistrict of Manikganj. Julhas Mollah, a 28-year-old mechanic and a college dropout, was the brains behind this plane. Time and money spentPer reports, this aeroplane weighed over 100 kilograms and was made by Mollah using aluminium, stainless steel, and iron. The aeroplane climbed to an altitude of 50 feet before it was brought safely to the ground. Mollah spent around 8 lakh taka and four years building this.Inspired by YouTube videos of aviation enthusiasts, Mollah began experimenting with remote-controlled aircraft four years ago. In 2021, he attempted to make such a plane. His first attempt at a manned aircraft was in 2024, but it only lifted 10–12 feet off the ground. After fine-tuning the design for a year, he had his first successful flight in 2025. Dr Monowar Hossain Mollah, deputy commissioner of Manikganj, also announced the government's plan to financially aid Mollah in further research and production of more aeroplanes. US-Bangla Airlines has also offered financial and technical support to Mollah. Thus, it is more than clear that a video from Bangladesh was falsely shared as from Bihar.- EndsTune InMust Watch
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