A Chinese AF Fighter Jet Crashed Near Chengdu

[antiterror13]

I'd say, it's much better for it to happen now than in the future when you'd have to recall large number of the aircraft.

Also this incident could be a "blessing in disguise" .. it will force China to develop its own engine (e.g WS-10B) more seriously (even at the moment very very serious) and pump more $$$$$$

 

[In4ser]

Let's not jump to conclusions. There are two WS-10s on J-11Bs and therefore redundancy is present and allows the plane to stay airborne if one engine fails, unlike the AL-31FNs on J-10s. We should instead be comparing the defect rate of WS-10 against the AL-31F on the J-11B instead of with the J-10.

 

[gullible]

Money Back guarantee on those asif??? don't work, bring it in for a full replacement!

ok i m gonna test it again..

 

[Scyth]

It could also be something as simple as a birdstrike? I don't know the environment near Chengdu, are there a lot of birds there?

 

[delft]

There is the old joke that when your parachute fails you have to take it back to the provider.

 

[Quickie]

The pilot looked calm and absorbed in thoughts. For him to eject until the plane got as low as reported, he must have stayed with the plane until the last minute. Credit him for steering the plane away from major buildings. How much control does a pilot have when the engine flames out? I hope he doesn't get in too much trouble.

Credit him for steering the plane away from major buildings.

He doesn't have to worry too much considering that he managed to divert the powerless aircraft to the fountain and staircase which formed a convenient barrier protecting the building behind them.

 

[Janiz]

He doesn't have to worry too much considering that he managed to divert the powerless aircraft to the fountain and staircase which formed a convenient barrier protecting the building behind them.

I doubt he was aiming for anything in particular. At best not hitting any heavily inhabited area. I can tell you a story of two Japanese pilots with 10000+ h in the air flying in the T-33 machine. They lost propulsion and they knew the machine will hit the ground and 'Bail out!' command has been shouted (must've been 600+m above the ground as that was safety limit for them) for the first time. However, they noticed earlier they're above heavily populated area and decided not to get out until they were sure they won't hit the ground in the safe area. They knew they probably won't make it alive at the time if they will do that. 13 seconds later there was 'Bail out!' command shouted for the second time. They were 100m above the ground already. They bailed out succesfully from the fuselage. Aircraft exploded in unihibited area near some river hitting high voltage poles before. Both pilots were found on the ground. With their parachutes only half-opened... And that was an extreme example of heroism and conscious thinking in choosing between your own life and the people you promised to protect when you entered the military.

Here we don't know yet what went wrong. But I hope the pilot did everything right at the moment to save lifes of people on the ground and won't have to ask himself 'if's afterward. Thank God no one was killed in the accident so it ended in 100% success for everyone I must say. Not everyone is born hero and that's fine with me. Having control to the last means that you will sacrifice your life.

According to news report, he borrowed that phone from villagers to report to base. He could be waiting for a call so he has to hold on to it.

Also, according to news local villagers offered him a drink but he did not accept and kept silent throughout.

People act in various ways after accidents. This pilot looked more like thinking if everyone is safe and about his family rather than his career... Sitting there all alone in the crowd of people not knowing anything about how it turned out finally... Must've been the longest minutes of his life.

 

[Equation]

Let's not jump to conclusions. There are two WS-10s on J-11Bs and therefore redundancy is present and allows the plane to stay airborne if one engine fails, unlike the AL-31FNs on J-10s. We should instead be comparing the defect rate of WS-10 against the AL-31F on the J-11B instead of with the J-10.

Yeah but the AL-31F are being produce in older Russian machinery and factories, meanwhile the WS-10 assemblies are newer with more up to date equipment and computers.

 

[Zool]

Yeah but the AL-31F are being produce in older Russian machinery and factories, meanwhile the WS-10 assemblies are newer with more up to date equipment and computers.

To be fair, China also handles all maintenance of it's AL-31's through it's local facilities. The engines are not sent back to Russia as India does for it's AL-31 equipped Flankers.

What would be really helpful is confirmation of the engine type and whether it was a new install (pre-maintenance overhaul) or one of the uprated AL-31's recently purchased.

 

[kwaigonegin]

I doubt he was aiming for anything in particular. At best not hitting any heavily inhabited area. I can tell you a story of two Japanese pilots with 10000+ h in the air flying in the T-33 machine. They lost propulsion and they knew the machine will hit the ground and 'Bail out!' command has been shouted (must've been 600+m above the ground as that was safety limit for them) for the first time. However, they noticed earlier they're above heavily populated area and decided not to get out until they were sure they won't hit the ground in the safe area. They knew they probably won't make it alive at the time if they will do that. 13 seconds later there was 'Bail out!' command shouted for the second time. They were 100m above the ground already. They bailed out succesfully from the fuselage. Aircraft exploded in unihibited area near some river hitting high voltage poles before. Both pilots were found on the ground. With their parachutes only half-opened... And that was an extreme example of heroism and conscious thinking in choosing between your own life and the people you promised to protect when you entered the military.

Here we don't know yet what went wrong. But I hope the pilot did everything right at the moment to save lifes of people on the ground and won't have to ask himself 'if's afterward. Thank God no one was killed in the accident so it ended in 100% success for everyone I must say. Not everyone is born hero and that's fine with me. Having control to the last means that you will sacrifice your life.People act in various ways after accidents. This pilot looked more like thinking if everyone is safe and about his family rather than his career... Sitting there all alone in the crowd of people not knowing anything about how it turned out finally... Must've been the longest minutes of his life.

Fighter pilots have nerves of steel after all they are conditioned and trained to do what they do! There have been literally hundreds of cases if not thousands where pilots flew with a lost wing, shredded fuselage, and what not. Heck if you take WWII into account the heroics of fighter pilots is almost legendary including the kamikazes.

Test pilots are a breed even above that. Was he rattled? .. sure but I guarantee you he didn't have to change his skivvies afterward like what most of us would probably have done.

Another case of a pilot who fought with the controls to avoid populated area and stayed with his damaged jet the entire way in was Yuri Gagarin. He was a hero when he was alive and he truly died a hero's death as well.