April 1, 2021, marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-China plane collision. Officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC) commemorate the death of pilot Wang Wei in a high-profile manner, inciting anti-American sentiment among the public. (Video screenshot)
This year’s April 1 marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-China plane collision. At a Time when relations between the United States and China are tense, Beijing is stirring up anti-American sentiment in China by paying a high-profile tribute to the pilot who died in the incident, Wang Wei. However, there are many questions about the incident that remain unanswered.
On April 1, 2001, a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft was on a reconnaissance mission over the South China Sea, and the Chinese side sent two J-8 II fighters to monitor and intercept the aircraft, which was piloted by Wang Wei with the number 81192, and collided with the U.S. aircraft that suddenly turned away due to a forced repulsion practice.
The Chinese J-8 II crashed and the pilot, Wang Wei, parachuted out and was later declared dead by officials at the age of 32. The U.S. EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft was forced to land at Lingshui Airport on Hainan Island, with no casualties on board.
On March 31 of this year, the Chinese Communist Party‘s official media collectively issued a high-profile article to commemorate Wang Wei. Photos published by the official media showed flowers and models of fighter jets and aircraft carriers placed in front of Wang Wei’s grave.
Reports related to Wang Wei’s memorial quickly hit the microblogging hotspots, setting off a new wave of anti-American voices. But according to a video released by the U.S. military earlier in the year, it was a Chinese military plane, “81192,” that provoked the collision in the first place.
According to previous media reports, after the incident, the Chinese side accused the U.S. reconnaissance plane of deliberately crashing into the J-8 fighter and landing on Chinese territory without notice or permission, and protested the incident.
The U.S. argued that their P-3 reconnaissance aircraft was hit by the out-of-control J-8 fighter and that the Chinese side was primarily responsible.
The U.S. side said that the Chinese pilot knew that there was a huge difference between the two sides in terms of aircraft type and weight, and was on a “surveillance” mission, but did not maintain a safe distance, resulting in the collision and crash of the aircraft, which was the result of a tactical error.
A standoff between the U.S. and China over responsibility for the incident turned into a diplomatic crisis. After negotiations, the incident ended with the U.S. expressing regret and the Chinese releasing the U.S. crew and returning the aircraft.
Twenty years have passed since the bizarre collision, but many questions remain unanswered.
Question 1: Why did the two military planes collide?
There is an analysis on the Internet that neither the U.S. nor China had a subjective motive to collide. High altitude flight, even a small bird hit the plane may be destroyed, not to mention the plane hit the plane. And in the vast ocean above, if the plane is severely damaged after the collision, the consequences are a dead end. The possible answer can only be: this is an accident that both sides do not want to see. But it is also true that Wang Wei flew the plane to make provocative actions.
From the video released by the U.S. military, you can see that the two military aircraft are too close to each other, Wang Wei’s fighter plane hit the propeller of the U.S. plane and crashed out of control. And the U.S. military aircraft could not fly back to the base due to damage.
Question 2: Why did Wang Wei die after parachuting, and why was his body not found?
There are two possibilities: one is that the parachute jump was unsuccessful, the parachute did not open completely, and the tangled parachute prevented Wang Wei from floating, and he was eventually caught in the water and suffocated; the other is that he did not jump out at all, that is, the ejection failed.
According to another Chinese fighter pilot, Zhao Yu, he saw one seat stabilizer and one Life parachute floating in the air after the crash. In other words, Wang Wei successfully parachuted out.
However, a 2004 official media report showed that Wang Wei’s cockpit was still intact after his plane was recovered. If the ejection had been successful, the cockpit would never have been intact.
The workflow of the ejection seat is like this: press the ejection button, the aircraft hatch first ejects, then the seat pops up and throws the pilot into the air. But if there is a malfunction, the hatch does not eject, or the seat pops up faster than the hatch ejects, then the pilot’s head will hit the hard hatch, and the ejection seat generates so much force that it can completely bruise the pilot’s collar bone and spine, or cause fainting due to concussion.
The likelihood of a failed ejection is high, but if that were to happen, and Wang Wei did not die from the crash, but was hit or drowned from the failed ejection, it would be very embarrassing for the Chinese Communist Party. This is probably why Wang Wei was officially declared dead, but his body could not be found.
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