U.S. was familiar with Chinese pilot

US aircrews had photographed encounters with missing Chinese pilot Wang Wei

By Jamie Mcintyre and Eileen O'Connor
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Wang Wei, the Chinese pilot involved in the collision with the Navy EP-3E, was known to the United States as an extremely aggressive flyer, military sources said Thursday.

"We knew this guy," one source said.

Former military officials who have overseen surveillance flights near China said the United States was familiar with the flying tactics of all Chinese fighter pilots who intercepted these flights, taking pictures of the most aggressive who flew exceedingly close, including Wang.

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In one picture, Wang is holding up a sign that appears to be an e-mail address sources say.

Retired Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney, who commanded the Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, where the surveillance flights originated, said the United States was aware of the tactics of every Chinese squadron. "This particular squadron down in that part of Hainan, even years ago, was a fairly aggressive squadron," McInerney said. "But what I suspect is either they were given guidance from above or you had some very aggressive fighter pilots who were not playing by the rules."

Pentagon officials have said the United States had complained at a "working level" to the Chinese about the increasingly aggressive and dangerous tactics used during these intercepts by their pilots.

"A very strong protest was launched back in January, with these fighter aircraft coming within a matter of feet of the reconnaissance aircraft and thereby posing a danger to all concerned. That's apparently what happened here," former Defense Secretary William Cohen said in an interview with CNN.

One Pentagon official told CNN that one pilot reported an F-8 came within 50 feet of his plane, and he expressed concerns about the safety of such maneuvers.

Pentagon officials said from the assessment of the damage to the underside of the EP-3 that it appears the F-8 was flying under the surveillance craft, a tactic that strayed from normal practice in such intercepts.

Normally, in flying formation, the F-8 would fly slightly below and off to one side or another, in a so-called "wing" formation. In this case, they said it appears the F-8 was more directly underneath.

One Pentagon official denied reports the EP-3 did any kind of banking maneuver.

"We don't give credence to Chinese reports that the EP-3 made a sudden move," the official said. "We won't know what really happened until we speak to the crew more extensively."

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