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FACT BRIEF

Are there special airplanes that bring fallen soldiers home and fire a flare salute designed to resemble an angel?

By Sarah Thompson
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NO

A photo of a plane firing flares has made the rounds on social media since at least 2017, with the claim that it is an "Angel Flight" bringing fallen soldiers home and saluting their memories with a flare burst meant to resemble an angel.

In actuality, the photo shows a military plane shooting decoy flares as a defensive measure against heat-seeking weapons.

The use of such flares, which burn at 2,000 degrees, is described in an environmental assessment prepared by the National Guard Bureau:

"The burn temperature is hotter than the exhaust of an aircraft and therefore attracts and decoys heat-seeking weapons targeted on the aircraft."

Angel Flight is a real thing, but does not have anything to do with military operations. Volunteer organizations in North and South America coordinate "Angel Flights," free of charge, for people needing medical care. 

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Dignified Transfer Mission
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.