Jet fighter makes forced landing after engine fails
Engine failure forced a J-10 multi-role jet fighter - China's most advanced military plane - to make a forced landing during a training exercise two weeks ago, state media reported yesterday.
In a rare break with tradition, China Central Television reported the incident yesterday and even showed footage of the jet struggling to remain balanced in the air. It said the incident took place on March 7 but did not report where it happened.
During the training exercise, pilot Li Feng, a deputy regiment air force commander, was trying to execute a difficult manoeuvre at 4,500 metres when its engine failed. After checking the engine, the pilot realised the plane could lose power at any time and asked to return, Xinhua said.
The engine stopped working when the fighter was 7km from the airfield. The fighter began to lose altitude at a rate of 25 metres per second, it reported. The pilot glided the fighter on to the runway without power.
Although the rear parachute failed to work, he managed to bring the plane to a stop after it taxied about 1,400 metres down the runway, according to the report. The landing took 104 seconds.
China unveiled the J-10 in January 2007. It is the country's most advanced indigenous jet fighter, and its performance has been said to be comparable to that of the United States' F-16.
It is rare for state media to report failures during military exercises because such information is classified as a state secret. However, in the face of criticism for its secrecy, Beijing has indicated it will make its military operations more transparent.
The incident also raises concern about whether the country has mastered the technology to develop indigenous military-use turbojet engines - the weakest link in China's military industry.
The J-10 was originally planned to be powered by an indigenous WP-15 turbojet engine, but the engine- development plan ran into problems and the aircraft was instead fitted with a Russian AL-31F turbofan engine.
Last year, mainland media reported that the country had finally developed an indigenous turbojet engine called the WS-10A, or 'Taihang', as it is known commercially. The military has started equipping the J-10 with this new engine, a development many see as a major breakthrough for China's military industry.
It was not clear what engine Li Feng's J-10 had.
