The China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Harbin Flight Academy has recently conducted a training involving a stall tail spin on the JL8 for the first time in more than 20 years, signalling a reinforcement of real combat training for the Air Force, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday. 

File photo for ‘death trap’ training (Xinhua)

"A stall tail spin refers to an abnormal state in which the aircraft falls rapidly and spirals as the result of improper operation," Fei Hongliang, an instructor at the academy, was quoted as saying in the report.

Dubbed the "death trap," this abnormal condition can severely compromise the maneuverability of the aircraft and p0se serious danger to flight safety, said the report. 

"More than 30 years ago, the PLA Air Force organized special training for the prevention of stall tail spins in response to frequent accidents in flight training," Wang Mingzhi, a professor with the Air Force Command College, told the media.

He added that the PLA Air Force's decision to once again incorporate the stall tail spin into the teaching content of flight academies is aimed at laying a solid foundation for the prevention of such accidents and to strengthen pilots' ability to deal with such circumstances.

Instructor Liu Hongyu recalled how he felt like he was riding on a wild buffalo and the sky and earth were spinning around him when the aircraft was in this state. He tightly manipulated the control column and steadily pushed forward the aircraft, successfully regaining control of the aircraft in nine seconds. 

The PLA Air Force adopts a system of training "seed" instructors, which help promote training from one flight academy to another.