A photo showing the damaged wing of the aircraft which suffers from the landing accident on May 1, 2016. [Photo: newssc.org]

Three Chinese airlines have been punished over errors that could have resulted in plane crashes, China's civil aviation regulator announced on Wednesday.

In addition, the Civil Aviation Administration of China says it's sending senior pilots, engineers and supervisors to inspect operations and carry out training with staff from China Eastern Airlines, Okay Airways, and XiamenAir.

The Aviation Administration said it was taking the action due to a what it described as "landslide of safety conditions".

Just a day before the announcement, Beijing-based private Okay Airways was involved in an incident in which the tail of a passenger aircraft scraped the runway as it came into land at Nanning airport in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In a similar incident in April, the tail of a XiamenAir's Boeing 737 passenger aircraft also touched the ground, which could have led to a serious accident.

On May 1, an Airbus 319 passenger aircraft belonging to China Eastern Airlines suffered damage to its tail and tires during an aborted landing during bad weather at an airport in Kangding in southwest China's Sichuan Province. After missing the approach, the aircraft flew back to Chengdu.

Experts say most of the incidents were the result of pilot error, often the result of fatigue or lack of training.

They also say the rapid expansion on flights and fierce competition has led to a shortage of pilots, with some airlines cutting back on training and introducing more overtime.

Official data shows there have been seven air accidents due to negligence in the first quarter of this year alone.

Meanwhile, two foreign airlines operating in China have been criticized by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Emirates and Orient Thai Airlines have been ordered to take immediate remedial action after two incidents, in January and April.

The administration said it would also evaluate the performance of other foreign airlines that operate on the Chinese mainland.