Yu Xu

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.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Yu.
Yu Xu
余旭
Yu with a U.S. Air Force F-16C at Langkawi, Malaysia.
BornMarch 1986
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Died12 November 2016 (aged 30)
Hebei, China
NationalityChinese
OccupationMilitary pilot

Early life

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

Education

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

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

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
  1. 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. 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.


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