A viral video claiming to show the eye of Hurricane Melissa has taken the internet by storm, amassing millions of views online — but it’s completely fake.
Real hurricanes can reach heights of up to 55,000 feet, far higher than the 43,000-foot ceiling of commercial jets, meaning the AI-generated clip could never have been filmed from a passenger plane. Only specialised NOAA research aircraft can safely approach such storms.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the video is fake — and shared authentic footage from their hurricane-hunting planes showing what the real eye of Hurricane Melissa looks like.