They concluded the jets pilots, preoccupied with troubleshooting an inertial reference system problem, responded improperly after the autopilot disengaged. [66] Over 1,000 psychology staff were dispatched to provide aid and emotional support to the families of the victims. The crash occurred after a 25-minute flight that FlightAware, an air traffic database, tracked from the Grand Canyon near Kingman, Arizona, to the Boulder City airport. The Boeing 737-800 passenger jet was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 when it plunged into a mountainous area in Guangxi, China. That's about all that is known for certain about the unusual. That says the Chinese are convinced that the 737-800, as a fleet type, does not have a problem.. The outpouring of grief following the crash of a Boeing 737-800 jet near Wuzhou in the Guangxi region flooded Chinese social media. And air regulators and Boeing istelf are not working on any new safety directives or warnings related to the crash. 2023 Madavor Media, LLC. Boeing has expressed dismay with Chinas Big Three carriers placing an order for 292 A320neo family jets on 1 July. The plane has been flying since 1998 and has an excellent safety record, said Hassan Shahidi, president of the Flight Safety Foundation. A sudden human input to the plane's controls appears to have caused a China Eastern flight to plunge nearly vertically into the mountains of Southern China in March, killing all 132 passengers . According to Aviation Safety Network, China's last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people on board were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. There should have been some sort of a call, he says. The investigation is the latest probe into safety on a Boeing jet after a faulty flight control system led to multiple fatal crashes aboard the Boeing 737 MAX, the successor to the 737-800. The jet was a Boeing 737-800, a model long viewed as a reliable workhorse in the industry. The CAAC published a preliminary report on April 20, 30 days after the accident. Aviation safety experts increasingly see only a few plausible reasons why a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 plunged into the ground on 21 March, killing all 132 people aboard. Beijing A China Eastern passenger jet carrying 132 people crashed in southern China on Monday, aviation authorities said. [57][58] Soon after the accident, it was suggested that catastrophic failure of the tailplane (for example, a stabilizer problem) and sabotage (such as a pilot intentionally crashing) were two of the possibilities regarding the cause of the crash. Hopefully a transparent investigation will occur with a clear explanation of how the aircraft rapidly descended, shortly regained control, and then lost control again. On March 21, a Boeing 737-800 (MU5735) of China Eastern Airlines suddenly crashed at high speed at cruising altitude, killing all 132 people on board. 2 min read. [72], A number of world leaders expressed condolences for the loss of life incurred. . With the cause of the crash unknown, some Chinese social media users turned to conspiracy theories and suspected the involvement of the United States in the accident. Before that happens, the industry needs to agree on a technical definition of sustainable aviation fuel. In April, the CAAC issued a brief statement about the investigation, stating little more than that work to recover and analyse data from the recorders was underway, and that the devices had suffered severe damage. [6][7], Contact with the aircraft was lost over the city of Wuzhou. That software is not on 737-800s. Adding to the. U.S. investigators believe someone in the cockpit deliberately crashed a China Eastern flight in March, in what was Chinas deadliest aviation disaster for 28 years, according to media reports. BEIJING (AP) The crash of a Boeing 737-800 passenger jet in China's southwest started a fire big enough to be seen from space and forced rescuers to search a rugged, remote mountainside. US government sources have told the Wall Street Journal that the crash of a Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines was intentional. Cancellation rates in China were the highest of 2022. The 737-800 is a twin-engine, single-aisle plane commonly used for short and medium-haul flights. The cockpit voice recorder captures sounds including conversations and background engine noise during the flight. The report suggests that US officials believe one of the aircrafts pilots could have caused the disaster, but are also considering the possibility that somebody else access the cockpit and caused the crash. China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 was completing a domestic flight when the crash happened . The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit, one individual told the Journal. China claims that no official information about the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crash had been released to media, though it stopped short of denying claims that the crash was intentional. [34] By evening, 117 out of 650 dispatched rescuers were nearby and headed to the site from three directions. This website uses cookies to improve your experience and for ads personalisation. Data from one of planes black box flight recorders, suggests inputs to controls pushed plane into fatal dive Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with preliminary assessment. Data from a black box recovered at the crash site near the city of Wuzhou in the southern province of Guangxi indicated that controls in the cockpit led the plane into its deadly dive, sources told the newspaper. The recovery of the cockpit voice recorder is a major breakthrough and the search for the flight data recorder continues. Watch the video above for more on the aftermath of the crash At the crash site, investigators found the jets horizontal stabiliser, vertical tail, engines, wings, landing gear and parts of the cockpit, the report says. That aircraft came down in Sumatra at a rate that neared 39,000ft per minute, according to Indonesias accident report. Sources China Eastern Black Box Points to Intentional Nosedive (WSJ) The US is cautious against acting in any way that might push China closer to Russia or encourage Chinese support for Moscows invasion of Ukraine, say observers. The plane plunged to 2200m before regaining about 360m, then dived again. After officials initially failed to answer basic questions about the plane and its pilots, they were accused by online commentators of "rainbow farts," an idiom for excessive praise. They cited ICAO guidelines that assign the country in which the crash occurred with responsibility for releasing information. "9P" is the, Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, List of accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737, "China Eastern crash probe looks into crew actions: Report", "Black Box Data Reportedly Suggest China Eastern Jet Crash Was Intentional", "China Eastern Plane Crash Data Suggest Intentional Dive, WSJ Says", "Flight data from China Eastern jet points to intentional nosedive -WSJ", "Flight history for China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735", "China Eastern Boeing 737 Jet Crashes With More Than 130 on Board", "China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 crashes en route to Guangzhou", "Chinese airliner carrying 132 people crashes", "MU5735", "MU5735133257", "Here's Everything We Know About the China Plane Crash So Far", "Video reportedly shows aftermath of passenger plane crash in China", "No survivors found in China Eastern plane crash, state media says", "Chinese Plane Crash Follows Rapid Growth at Airline Without Safety Incidents", "China Eastern Crash Is Rare Disaster for State-Run Airlines", "B-1791 China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-89P(WL)", "Live Flight Tracker Real-Time Flight Tracker Map", "Previous crashes may give clues to China jet's mystery plunge", "China Eastern: Plane carrying 132 people crashes in Guangxi hills", "What We Know About the Crash of China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735", "Chinese Boeing jet crashes in mountains with 132 on board, no sign of survivors", "A Black Box From China Eastern Airlines Plane Crash Is Found", "Black box from crashed China Eastern plane found in 'severely damaged' condition", "At Controls of Crashed China Eastern Jet: One of Country's First Commercial Pilots", "Passenger plane crashes in southern China", "China Eastern Airlines passenger jet crashes with 132 people on board", "China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735: debris and belongings recovered but search for survivors continues", "Search at China plane crash site suspended amid rain and landslide fears", "China examines cockpit voice recorder from crashed airliner", "Pieces fell off China crash plane in mid-air", "One black box from China Eastern plane found, along with some human remains", "China confirms all on board China Eastern plane died in crash", "All 132 victims of China Eastern Airlines crash identified through DNA testing", "Search finds 49,000 pieces of plane in China Eastern crash", "Boeing 737 passenger jet crashes in China with 132 people on board", "US names investigator as representative to China Boeing 737800 crash probe", "China finds first black box from crashed jet, U.S. discussing quarantine for investigators", "US officials can travel to China to aid crash investigation", "Black box found from crashed China Eastern Jet Chinese aviation regulator", "China found the plane's Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)", "Second 'black box' found in China Eastern plane crash", "U.S. experts analyzing black boxes from China Eastern Boeing 737 that nose-dived into mountainside killing 132", "Voice recorder in Chinese crash comes to D.C. as U.S. investigators head to China", "China Eastern crash: What do we know so far? The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit, one source close to the matter told the Wall Street Journal. [68], VariFlight reported that nearly 74 percent of the 11,800 flights scheduled in China on 22 March were cancelled as a result of the crash. [58], Early reports of the aircraft's flight data recorder pointed towards a deliberate crash from the cockpit. Scott Walton died piloting a medical flight in Nevada on Feb. 24. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. On Monday afternoon, the plane was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou when it lost contact around 2:15 p.m. and crashed in the city of Wuzhou around 2:30 p.m., the Civil Aviation Administration of. [27] Most of the airline's 737-800s eventually returned to service in April 2022. By human activity, he means a pilot deliberately commanding the jet to dive. [9] The aircraft crashed in the mountainous regions of Teng County causing a fire in nearby vegetation. And while cockpit intrusion remains a possibility, pilot murder-suicide seems likelier, as ATC received no hijacking coded message from the crew, and the cockpit door, as is the case in the United States, is strongly secured. Black box data has been recovered and Chinese authorities are investigating. [50][51] The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) was retrieved on 26 March,[52] and on 27 March, the flight data recorder (FDR) was recovered. The plane appeared to nosedive from a cruising altitude of. But other Chinese airlines continued operating the type. [40], Wet weather and the challenging accessibility of the crash site hampered the recovery process. A sudden human input to the planes controls appears to have caused a China Eastern flight to plunge nearly vertically into the mountains of Southern China in March, killing all 132 passengers onboard, according to preliminary findings from US authorities investigating the crash. One video showed the plane nose-diving into the ground. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is in the midst of a three-day visit to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping . Also recovered, 10kms away from the crash site, is a piece of wreckage indicating mid-air break up, which could possibly support the theory of a rear bulkhead failure. A video was released to the public on the day of the accident, showing the Boeing 737 aircraft involved entering a steep dive before slamming into a hilly area. The 737-800 (NG - New Generation) was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members according to sources when it dramatically lost altitude . The numbers arent reasonable, says Cox. The cause of the March 22, 2022, crash, has yet to be officially determined. A domestic Chinese flight with 132 passengers plummeted into the mountains of southern China on Monday, likely leaving all. [59] However, Chinese authorities later confirmed that it was a winglet, whose loss should not severely impair airworthiness, and which is lightweight enough to either have flown to the ground in the wind or broke-up during the descent. [citation needed] The aircraft had been scheduled to travel earlier from Baoshan to Kunming, but this segment of the journey was temporarily suspended due to low passenger numbers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China. [16] Footage from the crash site showed wreckage and a fire. Rescue personnel at the crash site of flightMU5735. But this airplane doesnt have a history [of] doing anything like that.. The Boeing 737-800 passenger jet was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 when it plunged into a mountainous area in Guangxi, China. Chilling eyewitness accounts of passenger plane that plunged into mountains with 132 on board, Expert reveals very unusual aspect in deadly plane crash. In 2019, the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections of 38 Boeing 737 NG planes, including 737-800s, because of cracks found in a part that connects the wings to the fuselage. A China Eastern flight carrying 132 people crashed Monday. [46] Boeing said that it was informed by initial reports and was gathering details. While Indonesias air travel market is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, several challenges confront the countrys airlines. Investigators searching for clues into the crash of China Eastern flight MU 5735 will look at any damage and subsequent repairs performed on the rear bulkhead as a possible cause. [56] On 24 March, a piece of the jet was discovered about 10km (6mi) from the crash site, initially giving weight to the theory of a mid-air breakup. BEIJING Even after the finding of the two "black boxes," it may be a long time before investigators figure out what caused a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 to nosedive into the. Chinese authorities are not pointing to issues regarding mechanical or flight control problems. Aviation safety expert John Cox, who works at consultancy Safety Operating Systems, says it is entirely possible that it is a deliberate act I would not take it off the table. What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation? It had been buried 1.5 metres (5ft) deep in the soil and appeared slightly dented but was intact. Two days after the China Eastern Airlines flight plunged from the sky, there are more questions than answers. But just over an hour into its journey, China Eastern Flight MU5735 pitched over into a sudden near-vertical dive. Early data showed the airliner plunged from 29,000 feet to 8,000 feet, leveled off and then went into a freefall. The steepness of the slope made the positioning of heavy equipment difficult. The Chinese passenger plane crashed in the southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on March 21, killing all 132 people on board including the nine crew members. Given that the aircraft was produced by an American company, the National Transport Safety Board is involved in the investigation. The airline also pointed to a preliminary report from the Chinese government that said efforts to restore data and analyze the planes damaged black boxes were still ongoing, the newspaper reported. Ice accumulation on the wings caused the plane to lose its lift, causing the crash. [75], Boeing offered its condolences to the families of the victims and said that it was in contact with China Eastern and the NTSB.[76]. Investigators struggling to establish cause of China Eastern Airlines crash, Follow the action from the third Test between India and Australia in Delhi in our live blog, Follow the live scorebetween Parramatta and Melbourne as the new NRL season begins. He was accompanied by the director of Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Guangxi and other officials. Accept. It crashed into the side of a mountain in a remote, forested area outside the city of Wuzhou. China Eastern noted the unlikeliness of anyone breaching the cockpit, as an emergency code was not broadcast. Chinese officials have also said that the China Eastern flight did not send out any distress signals before crashing, and that communications between the vessel and air traffic control didnt indicate anything abnormal before the crash, casting doubt on a cockpit breach. The CAACs initial accident report says air traffic controllers tried to call the 737s pilots during the descent but received no response. China Eastern responded immediately to the crash by grounding its 737-800s. China Eastern flight 5735 crashed outside the city of Wuzhou, leaving no survivors Authorities say there is no clear assessment of what caused the crash at this stage The crash site is only accessible on foot or by motorbike The Boeing 737-800 jet hurtled to the ground at high speed - thousands of feet. [35] Aircraft wreckage and victims' belongings were found, but no signs of human remains were detected. Josh Marcus. Flight data from the doomed plane suggests someone in the cockpit pushed the Boeing 737-800 into a near-vertical descent while cruising at a high altitude in late March, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with US officials preliminary assessment. On 19 February 1985, the Boeing 747SP operating the flight was involved in an aircraft upset accident, following the failure of the No. The flight crew consisted of three pilots, five flight attendants and an in-flight security guard. [63], Multiple reports also mentioned that in the moments just before and during the descent, there were no distress or mayday calls from the cockpit to air traffic control nor any answers to the attempts from air traffic control and nearby aircraft to make contact with the aircraft. The 737-800, part of the 737NG family, is among the most common airliners in operation, with Boeing having delivered more than 5,100 of the variant since 1998, according to the airframers data. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) told China's state-run daily Global Times on Wednesday (18), that it has confirmed with staff from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) participating in the investigation into the crash of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735, that they have not released any information about the investigation, refuting previous foreign media . Rescue workers planned to use drones in the search for the planes black boxes, which should contain information from instruments and sound from the cockpit. Nobody can come up with a mechanical failure mode that would make the airplane behave the way it did, Goglia adds. Spanish air navigation service Enaire has started implementing an air traffic optimisation project at Madrid Barajas airport, including independent approaches to its parallel runways. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. In 2004, a buildup of ice on the wings of a China Eastern plane flying from Baotou in Inner Mongolia caused it to crash, killing 55. 4 engine, while cruising at 41,000 ft (12,500 m). It was operating a routine flight between Kunming and Guangzhou, the airline's hub near the southeastern border with Hong Kong. The China Eastern Airlines plane crash in March 2022 shook the world for various reasons. The steep, rough terrain and the huge size of the debris field were complicating the search for the black boxes thathold the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency said. Report says air traffic controllers tried to call the 737s pilots during the safety... 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