China reveals cause of fatal April crash of J-15
Richard D Fisher Jr, Washington DC - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
29 July 2016
China has revealed the cause of the 27 April fatal crash of a Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) J-15 carrier-based fighter: the first such revelation of its kind.
Chinese media have revealed the cause of a fatal crash involving a SAC J-15 fighter (similar to this one). (Via Chinese Internet)
A report by China National Radio on 26 July revealed that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) J-15 fighter encountered a breakdown with the fly-by-wire flight control system while practising an arrested landing at an unspecified inland base.
According to Chinese sources, the flight control failure apparently caused the J-15 to pitch up upon touching the ground. When the pushrods failed, the pilot, identified as Lieutenant Zhang Chao, ejected and died as a result of an injury on landing, the report added.
This is not the first accident involving the multirole J-15, which is a key fighter for the PLAN aircraft carrier
Liaoning . An August 2014 commendation order to the J-15 test unit issued by Chinese President Xi Jinping mentioned that two pilots had died testing the fighter, but offered no explanation.
This is the first time a Chinese government source has said the J-15 uses fly-by-wire flight control: a system believed only to have been incorporated in the newer SAC J-16 strike fighter and J-11D fighter.
SAC's development of fly-by-wire technology is longstanding, with its experimental J-8ACT fly-by-wire testbed first flown in June 1990.
The canard addition noted on the PLAN SAC J-15's structure does indicate electronic management of the flying controls to assist combat manoeuvrability and low-speed handling characteristics.
However, laws governing management of this technology are generally embedded in early design models rather than retrospectively during upgrade action, given the fundamental impact on aircraft capability.
Based extensively on the Russian Sukhoi Su-33 carrier-based fighter, the J-15 made its first flight in August 2009 and its first arrested landing on
Liaoning in late November 2012.
Thus far the J-15 is only capable of ski-jump-assisted operations, but imagery from early July indicates that flight testing has begun for a J-15 with a nose-wheel modified to allow catapult assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) operations.
http://www.janes.com/article/62661/china-reveals-cause-of-fatal-april-crash-of-j-15
