Death of China’s first female J-10 fighter pilot Yu Xu sparks call for more training
Accident that killed elite military aerobatics high-flier the latest in a string of crashes involving J-10 fighter
The first Chinese woman to fly a J-10 fighter was remembered fondly on Sunday as a “golden peacock” after her death on Saturday in an air training accident.
Yu Xu, 30, died when her double-seater J-10 crashed in Hebei province. Her co-pilot ejected in time.
Yu’s classmates described her death as a “shock”, with some observers calling for higher training standards for aerobatics pilots.
Yu, born in Chengdu, Sichuan province, was one of the 35 women recruited as trainee pilots in July 2005.
Only 16 of the female intake – including Yu – went on to graduate four years later to become the country’s first women fighter jet pilots. Yu was also one of four women Chinese pilots who could fly the third generation of the fighter jet, according to mainland media reports.
