Why alumni groups are raising funds for Chinese air force officers killed in plane crash

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The PLA Air Force held a funeral in Guizhou on Sunday for crew members killed in a training exercise on January 29, but they did not say how many people died or name any of the victims. Photo: PLA

Published: 5:00pm, 10 Feb 2018Updated: 10:57pm, 10 Feb 2018

The university alumni associations of two air force officers who died in a plane crash in Guizhou last month have started raising funds for their families, prompting questions over whether the People’s Liberation Army does enough for personnel killed in the line of duty.

Zou Cunmai, 28, the pilot who was flying a new type of refuelling plane modified from the air force’s Y-8 transport aircraft, died in a military training exercise on January 29, according to an obituary written by his alumni association at Northeastern University in Shenyang, Liaoning.

Air force officer Shang Jin, 30, was also killed in the crash – and his death was also announced by his alumni association, from the University of Electronic Science and Technology in Chengdu, Sichuan.

Shang is survived by his wife, two young children and his parents, while Zou is survived by his wife, two young children and his parents.

The PLA has yet to say how many people died in the crash or name any of the victims, but it held a funeral on Sunday for “the crew” who lost their lives in the incident. Military sources have told the South China Morning Post that at least a dozen servicemen were killed in the crash.

Now the alumni associations are trying to raise money for the victims’ families – the Sichuan group had raised more than 500,000 yuan (US$79,000) for Shang’s family by February 2, while the Liaoning body says it is accepting donations for Zou’s family but it is not known how much has been raised yet.