Captain Yu Xu, the first Chinese female pilot certified to fly the Chengdu J-10 lightweight multirole fighter, was killed Nov. 13 in a horrific aircraft collision in Hebei province while performing with the August 1st Aerobatics Team.

Reports of her death in state-run media are contradictory and confusing. One version said Capt. Yu, 30, was unable to eject before the two-seat J-10SY aircraft smashed into the ground. The other pilot in the aircraft, a man, ejected but was injured.

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News stories were unclear as to who was piloting the J-10SY at the time of the accident.

Another version, however, reported witnesses seeing Capt. Yu eject from her single seat J-10 after it collided with another J-10 during a routine training flight. One report said she was struck by the wing of another J-10 after she ejected. This collision killed her.

The J-10 that collided with Capt. Yu's aircraft landed safety. The flight data recorder from Capt. Yu's jet was recovered.

The Sichuan Communist Youth League reported her death on social media. Capt. Yu was born in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.

She was a flight squadron leader of the August 1st Aerobatics Team of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Her last performance with the aerobatics team was at the Zhuhai Air Show earlier this month.

The accident that caused her death was the fourth involving a J-10 since 2014 and the first in which a pilot was killed.

Capt. Yu applied to become a pilot in the PLAAF in 2005 and became one of China's first 16 female pilots of fighter jets in 2009. She was the first of four female pilots certified to fly the J-10.

The aerobatics team was founded in 1962 and is named after the founding date of the People's Liberation Army. It's based at Yangcun Air Force Base near the city of Tianjin, home to the 24th Fighter Division.

TagsCaptain Yu Xu, Chengdu J-10, August 1st Aerobatics Team, aircraft collision, People's Liberation Army Air Force