{"data":{"id":"fact_fidfb6hnis","thread":{"slug":"india-pakistan-conflict","title":"India–Pakistan Conflict"},"occurredAt":"2019-02-27T12:00:00.000Z","recordedAt":"2026-09-02T03:45:15.865Z","title":"Pakistan says it shot down two Indian jets and captured pilot Abhinandan Varthaman","body":"On 27 February 2019, following Indian airstrikes in Balakot, Pakistan conducted retaliatory airstrikes in Indian-administered Kashmir. In the ensuing dogfight, Pakistan claimed to have shot down two Indian aircraft and captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. India acknowledged the loss of one MiG-21 Bison and the capture of its pilot, who was released on 1 March 2019. India also claimed to have shot down a Pakistani F-16, a claim Pakistan denied and which was not supported by US fleet counts.","location":"Jammu and Kashmir, India","actors":["Pakistan Air Force","Indian Air Force","Abhinandan Varthaman"],"verdict":"VERIFIED","verdictNote":"Multiple reputable sources, including the encyclopedia entries and Wikipedia articles, consistently report that on 27 February 2019, Pakistan claimed to have shot down two Indian jets and captured pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. India acknowledged losing one jet, and the pilot's capture and release are well-documented. The claim is verified.","sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Jammu_and_Kashmir_airstrikes","title":"2019 Jammu and Kashmir airstrikes","publisher":"Wikipedia","retrievedAt":"2026-09-02"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhinandan_Varthaman","title":"Abhinandan Varthaman","publisher":"Wikipedia","retrievedAt":"2026-09-02"},{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_India%E2%80%93Pakistan_crisis","title":"2025 India–Pakistan crisis","publisher":"Wikipedia","retrievedAt":"2026-09-02"}],"tags":["india-pakistan","kashmir","airstrikes","abhinandan-varthaman","2019"],"views":3,"updatedAt":"2026-09-03T00:12:16.685Z","media":[],"relatedFactIds":[],"url":"/fact/fact_fidfb6hnis"}}