China Eastern Boeing 737 nosedive was intentional. The aircraft was powered by two CFM56-7B26E turbofan engines. Key to the investigation is recovering the so-called black boxes - they are usually painted orange for visibility, but the longtime name has stuck. He was accompanied by the director of Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Guangxi and other officials. Talking to ATC is about third on the list, he says. His family said he had taken a job at Guardian Flight last year. But just over an hour into its journey, China Eastern Flight MU5735 pitched over into a sudden near-vertical dive. [42][43] As of 31 March, at least 49,117 pieces of airplane wreckage had been recovered. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The steepness of the slope made the positioning of heavy equipment difficult. The China Eastern Airlines plane crash that killed 132 people is believed to have been caused by an intentional act, according to U.S. officials who spoke to ABC News. [29][30] It was sent to Beijing for data extraction. State media and Chinese regulators gave no indication the pilot reported trouble or other information that might shed light on the cause of the disaster. On 21 March 2022, the Boeing 737-89P aircraft operating the service descended steeply mid-flight and struck the ground at high speed in Teng County, Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, killing all 123 passengers and 9 crew . Picture Twitter China Eastern flight MU5735 had taken off from Kunming and was en route to . Goglia says an explosion or rapid decompression would likely have caused the jet to break apart. The plane appeared to nosedive from a cruising altitude of. 167 Recovery workers paused for a moment of silence on March 27 for victims of the. 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 onboard, according to preliminary findings from US authorities investigating the crash. It was doing everything it was supposed to do, says Cox. [19][20], The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-89P[a] (737NG or 737 Next Generation) with the registration B-1791 and serial number 41474. Investigators face a formidable challenge in figuring out why China Eastern Flight 5735 crashed on March 21. Watch the video above for more on the aftermath of the crash The NTSB also attributed the rapid descent and crash of 737-300 operated by Singaporean carrier SilkAir in December 1997 to intentional pilot action specifically, sustained manual nose-down flight-control inputs, according to a letter from the investigation agency. Editor's Note: This story was updated to include an official statement from the NTSB. A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Graphic News is a registered trade mark, Basket ({{ basket.items.length | formatCountString }}). While Indonesias air travel market is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, several challenges confront the countrys airlines. What does the future of aviation look like in 2022? [64][65], Chinese premier Li Keqiang called for comprehensive efforts to search for survivors and treat the injured, emphasizing the need to reassure and serve the families of the victims. Investigators also looked into one of the pilots' personal lives and background and believe he may have been struggling through certain issues right before the crash, ABC News has learned. Pieces of the crashed plane's wreckage found at the crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang. But Cox cautions that emergencies do not always afford pilots time to issue mayday calls or to otherwise notify controllers of trouble. The aircraft was operating a service on the Kunming-Guangzhou route before suddenly plunging from 29,000ft. Rescuers stand in a silent tribute for victims at the site of the China Eastern Airlines plane crash in Teng County, Wuzhou, Guangxi, China, on March 27, 2022. 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. Already a member? [44], The CAAC enabled an emergency task force and dispatched a team to the crash site. 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. File image. [23] It is not equipped with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) used on the newer 737 MAX that led to two fatal accidents in 2018 and 2019 and the subsequent grounding of the fleet. Even the size of the debris field is important - when wreckage is spread over a very large area, it could indicate the plane was breaking up before hitting the ground. 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. The revelation has led US officials involved in the investigation to shift their focus to the actions of a pilot, but its also possible that someone else on the plane stormed into the cockpit and caused the crash, sources told the newspaper. Flight tracking data, moreover, showed the plane leveled off briefly before again diving sharply until it impacted terrain at very high speed, all of which are consistent with human action and possible a fight for control of the plane between two people. Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his "shock " over the incident, and called for investigators to determine the cause of the crash as soon as possible and to ensure . 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. Under international air law, Chinese authorities are expected to submit an early accident investigation report to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Wednesday. No. Scott Walton died piloting a medical flight in Nevada on Feb. 24. But just over an hour into its journey, China Eastern Flight MU5735 pitched over into a sudden near-vertical dive. Many smaller pieces of wreckage were scattered in the surrounding area. A majority of flight services between Beijing and Shanghai were cancelled. Chinese officials leading the crash investigation have not flagged any apparent mechanical or flight problems with the plane. [1][2][3][4] It is the third deadliest air crash in China after China Southern Airlines Flight 3943 and China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303, the deadliest air accident in China Eastern Airlines' history, and the deadliest plane crash in 2022. Breaking News: A story in the Wall Street Journal reports that the crash of the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 that went down in March in a remote area of Southeast China killing all 132 aboard was caused by human input. 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. Before that happens, the industry needs to agree on a technical definition of sustainable aviation fuel. China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province. Accept. There should have been some sort of a call, he says. If I have a major flight-control problem, I am going to deal with that [first].. Enaire says the scheme known FlightGlobal is the global aviation communitys primary source of news, data, insight, knowledge and expertise. Narrowbody was delivered to carrier from Boeings production line in 2015. That's about all that is known for certain about the unusual. However, neither China's authorities nor Boeing released any technical recommendations since the event. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Airliners do not come straight down unless someone in the cockpit commands the aircraft to do so, he says, and even then, that person must keep pressure on the controls or the jet will start levelling off. Closed-circuit video purporting showing the final seconds of the flight depicts an aircraft, seemingly largely intact, in a vertical dive. China Airlines Flight 006 (callsign "Dynasty 006") was a daily non-stop flight from Taipei to Los Angeles International Airport. Boeing has delivered more than 5100 of them over the past 24 years, and China is the biggest market, with nearly 1200, according to aviation consultant IBA. [75][27] On the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China Eastern shares dropped by 6.5 percent. The health and financial status of the pilots were in good shape, the airline told the Wall Street Journal. Brutal gym attack with 20kg weight caught on CCTV, Ash Barty explains why shes bowing out at the top of the tennis world, Jelena Dokic wows in new campaign for iconic Australian fashion brand, Mazda's largest SUV here in August with hybrid-beating efficiency, Aussie pub trivia question leaves internet stumped, Aussie designer behind reversible swimwear collection launches unique activewear to glowing reviews, Aussie drivers new number plate sparks outraged response: Nonsense, Woolies recalls popular meat over contamination fears in one state, Flight MU5735 was at 8800 metres on Monday afternoon. [18] It was the first fatal crash involving China Eastern Airlines since November 2004's Flight 5210. Of those, nearly 4,300 remain in service, according to Cirium. [40], Wet weather and the challenging accessibility of the crash site hampered the recovery process. "Given the information currently available, we still do not have a clear assessment of the cause for the crash.". 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. China waited one year after the FAA cleared the Max before issuing its own order lifting the grounding, in December 2021. They have been involved in 22 accidents that damaged the planes beyond repair and killed 612 people. Rain fell on Tuesday afternoon as excavators dug out a path to make access easier, CCTV said. No foreigners are believed to have been on board. Both aircraft recorders were severely damaged and were sent to Washington for further investigation. It said flight data indicated a struggle in the cockpit. 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. At the time, it was too early to draw any conclusions, as the investigations had just begun and the flight data recorders had not yet been recovered. Details about the crash remain sparse, but the information available seems to suggest either that the jet suffered some type of incredibly unusual flight-control problem, or that one of its pilots put the 737 into a dive. The China Eastern jet crash that killed 132 people when the craft slammed into a mountainside appears to have been an intentional act, according to a report Tuesday. By Jon Hemmerdinger2022-04-25T20:23:00+01:00. 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. Breaking News: A story in the Wall Street Journal reports that the crash of the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 that went down in March in a remote area of Southeast China killing all 132 aboard was caused by human input. Twenty-six people were killed and at least 85 injured after two trains collided head-on in Greece late on Tuesday night, while the cause of the deadliest rail crash in Greece in decades remained . We've received your submission. They have completed an initial investigative report about the crash, but have not released its full contents. The incident occurred near Wuzhou in Teng County, Southern China, at about 2:20 pm, less than an hour before flight MU5735 was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou. Boeing 737 Max jets, which first flew in 2017, were grounded after crashes in 2018 and 2019 . The first black box, the cockpit voice recorder, was found on March 23, while the flight data recorder was found on March 27. Boeing has expressed dismay with Chinas Big Three carriers placing an order for 292 A320neo family jets on 1 July. [27] Most of the airline's 737-800s eventually returned to service in April 2022. China Eastern has also returned the type to service after a one-month grounding. A Boeing 737 jet crashed into a hillside in Southern China on March 21, killing 132 people on board. The jet was a Boeing 737-800, a model long viewed as a reliable workhorse in the industry. Beijing A China Eastern passenger jet carrying 132 people crashed in southern China on Monday, aviation authorities said. Boeing has expressed dismay with Chinas Big Three carriers placing an order for 292 A320neo family jets on 1 July. Chinese officials sayinvestigatorstrying to determine why a passenger aircraft plummeted to the ground are facing a "very high level" of difficulty. Given the crash sites remoteness and inaccessibility, combined with the destructive high-velocity impact, the search for the flight recorders was beyond challenging. [73], In India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) placed all Boeing 737 aircraft flown by Indian carriers under "enhanced surveillance." [5] It was first flown on 5 June 2015 and was delivered new to China Eastern Yunnan Airlines (subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines) on 25 June 2015. All Rights Reserved [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. [48][29] On 29 March 2022, the NTSB announced that China had granted visas to the agency and the technical advisors from Boeing, engine manufacturer CFM and the FAA. Welcome to flightglobal.com. The Eastern Airlines jet crashed into a mountain after a steep dive. The accident happened on November 13 last year, leaving one dead. Some frames of that grainy video appear to show parts of the airplane being shed in the dive. Watch the video above for more on the aftermath of the crash, For more Travel related news and videos check out 7Travel >>. Airlines since November 2004 's flight 5210 destructive high-velocity impact, the industry an emergency task force dispatched. 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