The death of the Chinese J-10 female pilot was 'a shock'.

The death of Yu Xu, China's first female pilot to fly the J-10 fighter jet, has sparked calls for increased training time. Meanwhile, her classmates described her death as a shock.

Chinese female pilot Yu Xu. Photo: SCMP

Yu Xu, 30, recently died when the two-seat J-10 fighter jet she was piloting crashed in Hebei province. Her co-pilot managed to eject. Classmates described Yu's death as a shock.

Military analyst Ni Lexiong in Shanghai said there have been many accidents involving the J-10, but the causes have not been disclosed. Ni believes there should be fewer accidents, but added that they are also "the price to pay" for the modernization of the Chinese military.

There have been a series of accidents involving the J-10 in recent years, most recently on September 28th, when an aircraft crashed near Yangcun Air Base in Tianjin after striking a bird. In May, a J-10 crashed in Taizhou, Zhejiang.

Last year, there were three J-10 accidents in Shenyang, Huzhou, and Taizhou. In November 2014, a J-10B fighter jet crashed on the outskirts of Chengdu, injuring at least seven people on the ground.

Military observer Antony Wong Dong in Macau believes the standards for joining the aerobatic team need to be raised. China only requires about 1,000 flight hours to become a pilot, compared to 1,500 hours in developed countries.

"The morale of the acrobatic team will be affected. The team hasn't experienced an incident like this in a long time," Wong said.

"If such an accident had happened at the Zhuhai Airshow, it would have been a disaster as it could have caused many casualties," he remarked. Nearly two weeks before his death, Yu had participated in the Zhuhai Airshow, piloting a J-10 to perform aerobatic displays.

Chinese female pilot Yu Xu. Photo: SCMP

'No regrets'

Yu, born in Chengdu, Sichuan, was one of 35 women selected as pilot trainees in July 2005. Only 16 of them, including Yu, graduated four years later and became China's first female fighter pilots. Yu is also one of only four Chinese female pilots capable of flying third-generation fighter jets.

Along with a group of 15 female pilots, Yu appeared in CCTV's 2010 Spring Gala, a few months after her first performance in the October 2009 parade commemorating the 60th anniversary of China's National Day.

She was nicknamed "Golden Peacock" because she performed a peacock dance at the air force school in 2005.

According to CNR, Yu said she never regretted becoming a pilot. "Sometimes I feel envious of people my age, but that's just a fleeting feeling. I've chosen a different path in life, a different career, and different goals to pursue. I don't regret choosing to be a pilot," Yu once said. She also dreams of becoming an astronaut.

According to VNE