Chinese Jet Fighter Crashes at Air Show

BEIJING, China (AP) 10-14-2011 -- A Chinese air force jet crashed at an air show on Friday, leaving one of the pilots missing and presumed dead. Footage aired by China Central Television showed the jet sputtering and then nose-diving into a field outside the northern city of Xi'an as one of the pilots ejected from the cockpit and landed beneath an open parachute. Only one parachute was seen opening, and the plane, a two-seater JH-7 "Flying Leopard" fighter-bomber, burst into flames upon crashing. The other pilot's seat appeared not to have ejected. The pilot who ejected suffered only minor injuries, but his comrade appeared to have been trapped in the doomed plane, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing eyewitnesses and air show organizer, He Liang. The plane crashed more than 1 mile (2 kilometers) from the nearest onlookers and there were no deaths or injuries on the ground.