First Woman To Fly Chinese J-10 Fighter Killed In A Crash

The first woman to fly China’s J-10 fighter plane was killed after she hit the wing of another jet during a training exercise Monday.

Yu Xu, a member of the Chinese air force’s ‘August First’ aerobic display team was killed in a crash during an aerobatics training exercise, Global Times reported.

Her male co-pilot ejected safely and survived, the news daily reported.

"As one of only four female pilots in the country capable of flying domestically made fighter jets, her death comes as a tremendous loss to the Chinese air force," the report said.

Yu, from Chongzhou in the southwestern province of Sichuan, joined the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force in 2005.

She graduated from training four years later, one of the first 16 Chinese women pilots qualified to fly fighter jets, the China Daily said, and in July 2012 was the first woman to fly the J-10. Fans dubbed her the "golden peafowl", it added.

China could possibly export its J-10B fighter to Pakistan, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Russia has agreed for a deal to sell its advanced AL31FN engines which will be fitted to the J-10B, Kanwa defense review reported Sunday adding that the first batch of the engines is expected this year.