The Chinese J-16 accelerated and cut in front of the Australian plane, releasing chaff with small bits of aluminium designed to confuse radars that was sucked into the latter's engine, Australian defence minister Richard Marles said.Ĭhina has defended the actions of its pilots and blamed foreign countries for conducting close surveillance of its territory to contain Chinese development. In a statement on June 1, the Canadian military said Chinese planes tried to divert a Canadian long-range patrol aircraft from its path, and that the crew had to change direction quickly to avoid a collision.Īustralia said a Chinese fighter jet on May 26 committed a dangerous act of aggression against an Australian air force plane conducting aerial surveillance in the South China Sea.
No-one was killed, but several passengers were injured.Ĭhinese state media reports of the crash are unusual, because Beijing is typically keen to cover up military accidents and play up the 'heroic' role of the pilot in avoiding civilian deathsĪustralia and Canada have recently raised concerns about reckless flying by Chinese fighter pilots. China also sold an export version, the F-7, to more than a dozen countries, many of which have since retired the planes.Ĭhina's civil aviation industry has come under scrutiny in recent months following the still-unexplained crash of a China Eastern Airlines passenger jet on March 21 in which all 132 people on board were killed.Īnd on May 12, a Tibet Airlines flight with 122 people on board was leaving the southwestern city of Chongqing when it veered off the runway and caught fire. Large numbers remain in service, however, to provide regional air protection. The J-7 is an older model, single-engine aircraft with its origins in the Soviet MiG-21 dating from the 1950s and was produced for almost 50 years until 2013. Such reports from China are unusual, with Beijing typically keen to cover up military accidents or to praise the 'heroic' role of the pilot in avoiding deaths. State media did not give a cause for the crash, which is under investigation. The jet - a Chengdu J-7 - had just taken off from a nearby airbase when the pilot was forced to parachute out as it dropped from the sky on to a residential area
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