The burning wreckage of an aircraft on a mudflat in Shandong
Progress?: The burning wreckage of the aircraft on a mudflat in
Shandong. Photo: Supplied   "It was floating, floating,
floating, then bang! It suddenly hit the ground," says a witness
on video footage of the smoking wreckage taken on March 31 that
was anonymously uploaded on to the Chinese version of YouTube.
The plume of black smoke still billowing from the wreckage 20
minutes after the crash suggests the tanks were full and the
accident occurred not long after take-off, probably from Jinan.
Wu Yongming Luoyang  No Top Gun: Pilot Wu Yongming, a victim of
the PLA's organisational weaknesses. Photo: Supplied  Perhaps
there had been a fuel blockage on a wing tank, leading to a
weight imbalance that contributed to the Soviet-made Su-27 20
entering a "flat spin" before descending like a kite to earth,
according to retired and serving air force officers.  The
presence of what appear to be ejector seats metres from the
wreck suggests the two airmen di