On June 3, 2006, a

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

KJ-200 The KJ-200 (Chinese: 空警-200; pinyin: Kōngjǐng Liǎngbǎi; literally: "Airwarn-200") NATO reporting name: Moth or Y-8 Balance Beam system, is an Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) program developed by Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation. ...

crashed in Guangde County,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Province, China.China speeds production of AEW&C aircraft
- ''Jane's'' - Obtained April 29, 2007. All 40 people on board were killed.

Background

The aircraft involved was a PRC-produced

Airborne Warning and Control System Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

(AWACS) plane, one of four that were part of the country's efforts to expand its air defences. The exact model of aircraft involved was never officially identified, although it is believed to have been a

. The aircraft had been developed in 2002, and have been undergoing extensive tests since then.Chinese Crash An AWACS?
- Forecast International - Obtained April 29, 2007. The plane was carrying thirty-five electronics and avionics technicians, as well as five crewmembers. It is believed by aviation experts that the large number of people on board the aircraft indicated that some form of test was being conducted. Carrying such a large number of people allowed the plane to avoid transmitting real time data back to the ground, which could be compromised by foreign intelligence services.

Crash

The aircraft flew into a hillside, killing all on board. It was one of the worst disasters in the history of the Chinese air force.

Investigation

The Central Military Commission announced of the investigation result on September 7, 2006. The official explanation was that the accident was due to heavy ice formation on the wings after the aircraft made repeated passes in and out of clouds in bad weather. The announcement also declared that nearly a dozen high-ranking military officers were punished, including: * Jiang Jianzeng, commander of the Nanjing Military Region Air Force (MRAF) and deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region (MR), was censured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peoples Liberation Army Air Force KJ-200 crash, 2006 Aviation accidents and incidents in 2006 Aviation accidents and incidents in China People's Liberation Army Air Force 2006 disasters in China Military history of Anhui June 2006 events in China Xuancheng