Yu Xu (Chinese: 余旭; March 1986 – November 12, 2016)[1][2] was a Chinese female fighter pilot who served as a flight squadron leader in the August 1st aerobatic team of the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

Yu Xu
余旭
Yu with a U.S. Air Force F-16C at Langkawi, Malaysia.
BornMarch 1986
Chongqing County, Sichuan, China
(present day Chongzhou, Sichuan, China)
Died12 November 2016 (aged 30)
NationalityChinese
OccupationMilitary pilot

Early life

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Yu was born in Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern Chinese province Sichuan.[3]

Education

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Yu entered the military as a student at the PLA Air Force Aviation University in 2005, and graduated in 2009.[4][5] Sixteen women (including Yu) had graduated that year, which made her among the first women certified to fly fighter jets.[3]

Career

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Yu joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force in September 2005. Yu appeared with the other female pilots at the 2010 CCTV New Year's Gala.[3] In 2012, she was certified to fly the Chengdu J-10, single-engine jet.[1] Yu's fans referred to her with the nickname, "Golden Peafowl."[6]

Death

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Yu died during an aerobatic training session on November 12, 2016, after being struck by another plane as she ejected from the J-10.[7] However, some official press reported she was unable to eject on time from her plane before it made impact with the ground.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Lendon, Brad (November 14, 2016). "Horrific crash kills Yu Xu, 1st woman to fly China's J-10 fighter". CNN. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  2. ^ "Chinese female pilot dies in flight training". Xinhua. November 13, 2016. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Li, Jing (November 13, 2016). "Death of China's first female J-10 fighter pilot Yu Xu sparks call for more training". South China Morning Post.
  4. ^ Lei, Zhao (November 14, 2016). "Woman fighter pilot inspired nation". China Daily. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  5. ^ Hersher, Rebecca (November 14, 2016). "Questions About China's Military Training After Female Fighter Pilot Dies". National Public Radio. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  6. ^ "China's first female J-10 fighter pilot killed in air crash". UPI. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  7. ^ "China mourns first female J-10 pilot after death in training". BBC. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  8. ^ "Chinese female fighter pilot dies in crash". www.skynews.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-11-14.