Jane Perlez
On a sunny Sunday morning in April 2001, an American EP-3E Aries II surveillance aircraft was flying at 22,500 feet over international waters in the South China Sea when two Chinese F-8 fighter jets appeared. One of the F-8s, piloted by a lieutenant commander named Wang Wei, flew within ten feet of the spy plane’s left wing and saluted the crew before dropping back 100 feet.
Wang then approached a second time, flying within five feet and seeming to shout something at the American pilots. On a third advance, he got closer still—close enough to get pulled into one of the EP-3E’s propellers. The Chinese F-8 was sliced in half, killing Wang, whom state media would later refer to as a “revolutionary martyr.”
Shrapnel from the collision went flying in every direction, amputating the EP-3E’s nose, rupturing a wing tip, and damaging two of the four engines. The plane plummeted 8,000 feet in 30 seconds before the pilot, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Shane Osborn, managed to stabilize it.
No comments:
Post a Comment