A Chengdu J-7 fighter jet of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force crashed into a residential building near Laohekou Air Base in Xiangyang, central China.
The J-7 fighter was on a training mission when it crashed for an unknown reason on June 9, 2022. While the pilot successfully ejected himself from the aircraft, only suffering minor injuries, one resident of the building was killed, according to the Chinese state-controlled tabloid Global Times.
Two more people on the ground were also injured. The pilot and injured civilians were taken to a local hospital. Footage shared on social media show several burning buildings around the wreckage.
A plane has crashed near the airport in Laohekou, C China’s Hubei Province Wednesday morning. The pilot ejected and suffered minor injuries. Current casualties are unknown. pic.twitter.com/Q2wI2lrOYX
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 9, 2022
The J-7 is a fighter developed by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group in the 1960s. It is based on the Soviet MiG-21. China has produced over 2,000 J-7s in different versions that were progressively modernized. 500 of these aircraft were exported to other nations, most of which are still operating them to this day.