No casualties were reported after a Chinese naval fighter jet crashed into a factory in East China's Zhejiang Province on Wednesday while conducting a nighttime drill.
The aircraft went down at around 7:30 p.m. during a drill exercise. The crew and pilot successfully ejected and parachuted to safety, said navy spokesperson Liang Yang.
Part of the factory was damaged, but no casualties have been reported, he said, adding that an investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.
"The more frequent, lengthy and difficult training sessions are, the higher the risk of a jet accident, which is a worldwide phenomenon," Zhang Junshe, a research fellow at the China Naval Research Institute, told 81.cn, the official website of Chinese military newspaper the PLA Daily.
However, the high risk of such accidents cannot prevent training exercises from taking place, Zhang stressed.
He added that night drills present more difficulties during takeoff and landing than daytime exercises due to the narrower optical range, further contributing to the higher risk of crashes.
A similar accident occurred near a village in Wenling, Zhejiang in December when two pilots from the East China Sea Fleet were conducting a flight training exercise.
In that incident, the two pilots also managed to eject safely before the aircraft crashed.
