Yu Xu (; March 1986 – November 12, 2016)
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
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
.
Early life
Yu was born in
Chengdu
Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...
, the capital of the southwestern Chinese province
Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
.
Education
Yu entered the military as a student at the
PLA Air Force Aviation University in 2005, and graduated in 2009. Sixteen women (including Yu) had graduated that year, which made her among the first women certified to fly fighter jets.
[
]
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
The ''CMG New Year's Gala'', formerly known as the ''CCTV New Year's Gala'', also known as the ''Spring Festival Gala'', and commonly abbreviated in Chinese as ''Chunwan'' (), is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Media Group (CMG). I ...
.[ In 2012, she was certified to fly the Chengdu J-10, single-engine jet.][ Yu's fans referred to her with the nickname, "Golden Peafowl."
]
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. However, some official press reported she was unable to eject on time from her plane before it made impact with the ground.
References
1986 births
2016 deaths
People's Liberation Army Air Force personnel
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in China
People from Chengdu
Chinese women aviators
Chinese aviators
PLA Air Force Aviation University alumni
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2016
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