On 22 October 2021, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) two-seater Chengdu J-10S fighter jet crashes in Henan Province.
According to a video circulating on Chinese social media, both pilots ejected safely and sustained only minor injuries.
The footage shows the crashed aircraft on the bank of the Jialu River in Henan. The two pilots can be seen landing safely near the river bank.
Members of a Taiwan military enthusiast social network group identified the location as a site 1.2 kilometers from the Zhengzhou Matougang Airport runway.
A picture of the wreck posted in the Taiwanese military enthusiast Facebook group “New 27 unit military discussion” shows the nose of the plane visibly destroyed, while the rest of its airframe remains intact with seemingly no damage at all.
Neither the Henan Provincial Government nor the PLA Air Force has commented on this incident.
The J-10 is a multi-role fighter aircraft developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry. It can carry air-to-air missiles such as the PL-8, P-11, or PL-12, and can be outfitted with laser-guided bombs and anti-ship missiles, according to Airforce-Technology.
Mass production began in the mid-2000s to replace the PLAAF’s Chengdu J-7 and Nanchang Q-5 fighters.
Making the backbone of the Chinese Air Force, more than 300 J-10s still remain in the fleet, while close to 25 naval variants of the fighter are in service with the PLA Navy
