Was an Israeli pilot captured by Iran?

Several posts are circulating on the social network Facebook claiming that Iran has captured an Israeli pilot, following the ongoing war between the two countries. “Sarah Ahronot, the Israeli pilot who was captured by Iran, after ejecting from one of the downed fighter jets,” reads one of the posts, accompanied by a photo of a woman dressed in a military uniform. Another post claims that the pilot in question also participated in the air strikes against the Gaza Strip.

Regarding the conflict with Iran, it is known that the Israeli Air Force has used dozens of fighter jets in recent days to target nuclear and military installations in large areas of Iranian territory. The Israeli Air Force has also released several images of the bombings on the social network X.

Like Israel, Iran also has several air defense systems, but these have been unable to stop Israeli attacks. However, on the first day of the direct conflict between the two countries, on June 13, Iranian state agencies stated that the country's armed forces had managed to shoot down two Israeli fighter jets, capturing one of the pilots alive — information that has not been officially confirmed.

The Tasnim agency, one of those that released the information, did not mention the identity of the pilot allegedly captured. Immediately, publications began to appear claiming that the pilot in question was Sarah Ahronot.

However, not only is there no evidence that Iranian forces captured any Israeli pilots, but the image presented in the publications does not show Sarah Ahronot, but rather Daniela Figueroa, who in 2021 became the first female pilot in the Chilean Navy. In fact, the military uniform in the image bears the surname of the pilot, who flew the Pilatus PC-7 aircraft shown in the image, which is part of the Chilean Navy.

In an interview with the Diálogo Américas portal, Figueroa said that “being the Navy’s first female pilot is an achievement, a source of pride and a great responsibility.”

Conclusion

The pilot whose photo is being shared on social media was not captured by Iran. She is Daniela Figueroa, who in 2021 became the first female pilot in the Chilean Navy.

So, according to the Observer's rating system, this content is:

WRONG

In Facebook's rating system , this content is:

FALSE : The content's main claims are factually inaccurate. This option typically corresponds to “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking sites.

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