Chinese military plane crashes into people’s houses

Follow SCMPone person died and two were injured after the J-7 crashed into a residential area near Lao Hekou Airport, in Xiangyang City, Hubei Province, on June 9.

According to China’s national broadcaster CCTV, the J-7 fighter jet encountered a problem while on a training flight. The J-7 pilot managed to escape from the plane, but the fighter crashed into a residential area.

Immediately after the incident, the J-7 pilot and some injured civilians were taken to the hospital.

Currently, the Chinese Air Force has opened an investigation into the cause of the accident.

According to several videos circulating on social media, flames and smoke rose from what appeared to be the scene of the accident, with many houses on fire and collapsing when the jet crashed. Local fire and ambulance crews were on the scene shortly after.

The Hubei provincial government said it will release information about the accident as soon as possible, according to Global Times.

According to Chinese media, from the beginning of 2021, the Chinese Air Force plans to gradually phase out the J-7 fighter line, which has served for decades.

At the present time, the J-7 is still one of the main fighter lines of the Chinese Air Force, in addition to the task of intercepting the air, this fighter can also perform other tasks such as escorting, coordinating. cooperate with 3rd and 4th generation fighters.

Video: The fighter jet crashed into people’s houses in China

According to CCTV, the Chinese Air Force has also made many modifications and upgrades to the J-7, developing variants such as the JL-9 trainer, and exporting this fighter to many countries.

In the past 20 years, the Chinese air force has put into service a large number of fourth-generation fighters such as J-10, J-11 and J-16, in addition to J-20 5th generation fighter jet.

4th generation fighters like the J-10 perform better in both air combat and ground attack, as their maneuverability is superior to that of the J-7.

China has also announced that it will increase its defense budget, and one of the purposes of using this money is to accelerate the modernization of weapons and equipment for the air force.