Bott Radio Network

Nebraska State Treasurer, Shane Osborn reflects on his harrowing experience of being detained by the Chinese government. The story dominated national headlines in April, 2001. Osborn was piloting an EP-3E airplane with a 23 member crew about 70 miles from the Chinese island of Hainan in international airspace. As a Chinese J-8IIM fighter jet suddenly collided with his aircraft, his EP-3E’s propeller cut the fighter in half. The impact sent Osborn’s plane into an inverted dive, dropping thousands of feet in seconds before he could regain control of his aircraft. After landing the plane on the Lingshui Air Base on Hainan Island, Osborn and his crew were detained at a Chinese military installation where they were interrogated over two weeks. They were finally released from Chinese custody on April 11, 2001. After the incident, Osborn was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement in flight.