A J-15 naval fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in southern China, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Saturday. Chinese CGTN commentators called J-15 a ‘flopping fish’.
The jet from the Southern Theatre Command crashed in an open space near Jialai town in the southern island of Hainan around 1.30pm.
The pilot successfully ejected from the plane and no damage was caused on the ground, the PLA Navy said in a statement on social media.
The PLA said it was organising forces to deal with the aftermath of the accident, adding that it would be investigating the causes. The island province of Hainan, a popular tropical holiday destination, sits in the South China Sea east of Vietnam. It is also a military stronghold for China in the disputed waters, and acts as a base for PLA destroyers and nuclear-armed submarines.
The Southern Theatre Command is mainly tasked with overseeing the South China Sea, where Beijing’s expansive territorial claims are contested by several neighbours. Fighter jet crashes are not unusual globally, but reports of military crashes in China are rare.
On June 9, 2022, a Chinese air force fighter jet crashed during a training exercise in central Hubei province. One civilian was killed and two others were injured, while the pilot was able to eject successfully, state broadcaster CCTV reported at the time.
The crash occurred near an airport in the city of Xiangyang, and caused a fire which damaged homes.
The aircraft was a J-15, the Chinese reverse engineered version of the Soviet Su-33, it is one of the oldest types of fighter jets China has in service.
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