Airplanes

Side-by-side real life and Microsoft Flight Simulator footage of plane landing in Tenerife has people struggling to tell which is which

Published on Oct 27, 2025 at 11:52 PM (UTC+4)
by Grace Donohoe

Last updated on Oct 27, 2025 at 9:44 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Mason Jones

This side-by-side footage of Microsoft Flight Simulator and a real flight will have you second-guessing which one is real.

With the real footage captured at Tenerife South Airport, it’s clear the hyper-realistic rendering of the airspace leaves almost no detail overlooked.

From the ocean waves at the island’s edge to the precise moment the aircraft touches down, the similarities are striking.

YouTube creator Tropical Tech 2 shared the Microsoft Flight Simulator comparison online and people were quick to share their thoughts.

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How Microsoft Flight Simulator compares to real life

Becoming a pilot takes many years of training but thanks to the simulator, aviation enthusiasts can pretend that they are sitting in the cockpit from the comfort of their own homes.

The flight game can be played on Xbox and Windows PCs, with PlayStation 5 soon set to follow suit.

Side-by-side real life and Microsoft Flight Simulator footage of plane landing in Tenerife has people struggling to tell which is which
By Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK – Tenerife South Airport. 17-1-2016, CC BY-SA 2.0

Users can even make their own airports and share their creations with other players.

In this scenario, viewers could experience both the real and virtual landing points at exactly the same time.

Having come a long way from the original graphics when it was first released in the 1980s, simulator footage from the 2024 version left people thinking it was the real deal.

Some viewers were stumped when it came to identifying the real Tenerife South Airport landing from the game footage.

Side-by-side real life and Microsoft Flight Simulator footage of plane landing in Tenerife has people struggling to tell which is which
By Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK – Boeing 737-8K5(w) ‘SE-RFY’ TUIfly Nordic, CC BY-SA 2.0

Microsoft Flight Simulator leaves fans confused

“I can’t tell what’s more real the game or REAL life,” said one plane fan.

“It’s crazy how i can’t tell which one is real,” said another user.

“Wow, perfectly synced,” added a third aviation enthusiast.

The main difference between the two landing videos was that one was a lot greener than the other, suggesting that one of them needs to be slightly more updated – we’ll let you figure out if that was the real footage or the simulator.

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Grace started her career writing about the weird and wonderful for the international press. She's covered everything from lifestyle to sports and hard news and now finds herself pursuing her main interest - cars. She's loved cars from a young age and has a keen interest in luxury travel too.