The damaged U.S. Navy EP-3 electronic reconnaissance plane is parked at Lingshui base on China's Hainan Island Tuesday, April 3, 2001. A U.S. surveillance aircraft carrying a crew of 24 collided with a Chinese fighter plane that was shadowing them on Sunday, forcing the U.S. plane to make an emergency landing on Chinese soil at Lingshui on the southern tip of Hainan Island, China. The Chinese fighter jet was lost in the South China Sea. The Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, who is believed to have parachuted from his aircraft after the collision, is still missing and feared dead. They also accused the pilot of landing in Chinese territory without permission.
China wants to hold the crew while their investigation of the collision continues.
The crew members are in China because the investigation is going on. The Navy EP-3 apparently suffered damage to two engines and propellers, lost much of its nose cone and lost the use of its wing flaps and air speed indicator. A senior U.S. Navy admiral said Monday that Chinese officials had no right to board the U.S. plane. U.S. officials say the surveillance plane was on a routine mission when two Chinese F-8 fighters intercepted it. Blair also said that under the regulations of international air space the smaller, faster aircraft had the responsibility for staying clear of the larger, slower aircraft that the American pilots were flying.