On April 1, 2001, a mid-air collision between a United States Navy EP-3E Aries II surveillance aircraft and a People’s Liberation Army Navy J-8II Finback occurred off the coast of Hainan Island, China. The crew of PR-32, assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1) based out of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan was forced to make an emergency landing at the Chinese-controlled Lingshui airfield. 

After the collision and subsequent emergency landing, the American crew was detained for eleven days while United States and Chinese diplomats disagreed over the cause of the incident. The Chinese government was persuaded to release the crew only after Washington, D.C., issued the “Letter of Two Sorries” on April 11. This official statement expressed sorrow and regret for the death of the J-8 pilot, Wang Wei, and for the landing at Lingshui airfield without proper clearance.

The Chinese returned the EP-3 aircraft to the United States government after a thorough examination and a partial disassembly. On July 3, the disassembled aircraft was flown back to the United States on a Russian An-124-100 Antonov.

To commemorate the 10-year anniversary of this incident and the safe return of the 24-man aircrew, VQ-1 will be hosting a remembrance at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 1 at the NAS Whidbey Island Officersí Club. A slide show of the Hainan Island Incident will be presented by five members of the PR-32 aircrew, Lt. Cmdr. Richard D. Payne, Chief Aviation Machinistís Mate Regina P. Kauffman, Chief Aviation Machinistís Mate Wendy S. Hermandorfer, Cryptologic Technical Technician 1st Class Bradford J. Borland, and Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Scott L. Guidry. They will discuss their experiences during the incident and facilitate a discussion of the incident after the presentation.

All active duty military members are welcome to attend.