The death of a popular female Chinese fighter pilot known as the “Golden Peacock” has sparked calls for improved training after she died in a horrific crash during a routine exercise with the country’s national aerobatics team over the weekend.

Capt. Yu Xu, 30, died Saturday when her double-seater J-10 jet collided midair with another plane from the aerobatics team over Hebei province. Her 35-year-old male co-pilot ejected in time and survived with minor injuries, the South China Morning Post reported.
Yu was one of China’s first female fighter pilots and the first woman to fly a J-10 stealth fighter.
She ejected during the collision, but was hit by a wing, the China Daily reported. She had been sitting in the back seat of the cockpit.
Witnesses said the impact left a 10-metre diameter and three-metre deep pit on farmland at the Dayangpu village of Chenjiapu.


The jet’s flight data recorder, or black box, was recovered Saturday evening and handed over to authorities, along with the jet’s engine.
Yu’s death occurred less than two weeks after she took part in an aerobatics team performance at Airshow China in Zhuhai, according to the South China Morning Post.
“I hope to give the audience a good performance,” China National Radio quoted her as saying before the show. “In terms of safety, in our training we’re always reminded to put safety first.”

The Cheng-du J-10 is a lightweight multi-role fighter jet officially unveiled by China in 2007, although its existence was known long before the announcement. Yu was reportedly one of four female pilots licensed to fly it.
The pilot earned her nickname by performing a peacock dance at the People’s Liberation Army’s aviation school in 2005.

According to mainland media reports,Yu said she never felt any regrets about becoming a pilot.
“Sometimes I’m envious of people the same age, but that is only a momentary feeling. I have chosen a different way of life, a different occupation, and I have different pursuits (in life) … I don’t feel regret choosing to fly,” CNR quoted her as saying.
Yu also dreamed of being an astronaut, the report said.Shanghai-based military analyst Ni Lexiong told the South China Morning Post there have been several accidents involving J-10s but the causes have not made public. Ni said there need to be fewer accidents but they are also “a price that has to be paid” for modernization of the Chinese military.

The paper said there has been a string of J-10 accidents over the past few years, the most recent on Sept. 28, when an aircraft crashed near Yangcun air base in Tianjin reportedly after hitting a bird. In May, another J-10 crashed in Taizhou, Zhejiang.
Three J-10 crashes were reported last year — one each in Shenyang, Huzhou and Taizhou.
Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong told the South China Morning Post that the threshold for entering the aerobatics team should be higher.
China only requires about 1,000 flying hours to become a ­pilot, compared with 1,500 hours in developed nations, he said.

In an interview with China’s CCTV, Yu herself said: “I think the acrobatics are quite difficult, with high requirements and standards made in all aspects. Our condition is quite satisfactory, but we need more training if we want to be better.”
Wan Ying, a friend of Yu’s, told CNN that Yu was “a very positive, humble and nice person who loved taking care of friends.”

On China’s Weibo social media site, the pilot was saluted as a hero.
“Yu Xu is our most proud female pilot. Her death is a great loss for our country,” CNN quoted one poster as saying.
“Yu is the Hua Mulan (legendary woman warrior) of our era, a rare heroine,” wrote another.
The website for the All-China Women’s Federation indicated Monday that 60 million users of the Weibo site had clicked on Yu’s story by Sunday night, CNN reported.