The main image of this post was released by the Chinese Marine Corps on Apr. 1, 2021 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the so called Hainan Incident.
First noted by Scramble Magazine, the main image of this post was released by the Chinese Marine Corps on Apr. 1, 2021 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the so called Hainan Incident and shows group of marines in front of a dismantled US Navy EP-3 Aries II.
As we have recently explained (CLICK HERE to read our story on Hainan Incident), this US Navy EP-3E Aries II ((BuNo 156511), assigned to VQ-1 “World Watchers” had made an emergency landing at Lingshui Airbase, Hainan Province, China on Apr. 1, 2001 after colliding with a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) J-8II interceptor over the South China Sea. The Chinese jet and its pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Wang Wei, were lost while the damaged US plane made an emergency landing on Hainan Island. The crew destroyed as much classified material as possible before landing.
The Chinese refused to allow the plane to be flown from the island, forcing the U.S. pay to have it dismantled and shipped. The Chinese also charged the U.S. $34,567.89 to pay for 11 days of food and lodging supplied to the 24 crew members.
The following photo instead is an irreplaceable historic image whose numbers according to China’s official Xinhua news agency clearly identifies the areas of the EP-3E ARIES II surveillance plane damaged during the incident. The reader can readily and factually see the damage to the plane in this photo, the damaged propeller tip on the furthest right, and the missing radome (nose).
Photo credit: Chinese Marine Corps and Lockheed Martin
