The aircraft was powered by two CFM56-7B26E turbofan engines. What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation? The China Eastern Airlines plane crash in March 2022 shook the world for various reasons. [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. Articles and social media posts that asked more detailed questions were deleted by censors. In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, workers search through debris at the China Eastern flight crash site in Tengxian County in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 24, 2022. [66] Over 1,000 psychology staff were dispatched to provide aid and emotional support to the families of the victims. Two days after the China Eastern Airlines flight plunged from the sky, there are more questions than answers. On Boeing ( NYSE: BA ): The China Eastern Airlines Corp. Boeing 737-800 NG crashed in the southern region of Guangxi on March 21 while making a flight from Kunming to Guangzhou. [27] Most of the airline's 737-800s eventually returned to service in April 2022. One device, the flight data recorder, captures information about the planes airspeed, altitude, direction up or down, pilot actions, and performance of all key systems. [56] No components of common explosives were detected. That kind of vertical dive, without a radio call of any kind from the flightcrew, could clearly indicate a human activity to make that happen, aviation safety consultant and former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member John Goglia told FlightGlobal in April. 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. Some frames of that grainy video appear to show parts of the airplane being shed in the dive. Narrowbody was delivered to carrier from Boeings production line in 2015. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which is leading the investigation, has not yet said what it thinks caused the crash. Welcome to flightglobal.com. The crash site is surrounded on three sides by mountains and is accessible only onfoot and by motorcycle on a steep dirt road in the semitropical Guangxi region, famed for some of China's most spectacular scenery. [24][25], The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the airline reported 123 passengers and 9 crew members to be on the flight, for a total of 132 people. The cause of the China Eastern 737-800 NG crash remains a mystery. 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 . China Eastern Airlines has grounded all its 737-800s. 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. 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 health and financial status of the pilots were in good shape, the airline told the Wall Street Journal. 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. No foreigners are believed to have been on board. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. But just over an hour into its journey, China Eastern Flight MU5735 pitched over into a sudden near-vertical dive. Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2022. China Eastern flight MU5735 was on its way from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 when it dropped from its cruising altitude into the mountains of Guangxi in the southern part of China. The plane slammed into the ground with such force that it created a 66-foot deep hole in the ground, according to Chinese officials. Local authorities dispatched 450 firefighters to the scene of the accident. But Chinese searchers did indeed locate both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders shortly after the crash. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. The cause of the March 22, 2022, crash, has yet to be officially determined. 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. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said all information on the investigation will come from their counterparts in the Civil Aviation Administration of China, but regulators and Boeing have not flagged any mechanical issues. Chinese authorities are not pointing to issues regarding mechanical or flight control problems. 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. Zhu Tao, director of aviation safety at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, has said the investigation . Josh Marcus. 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. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. We've received your submission. SpiceJet, Vistara and Air India Express have the aircraft in their fleets. Intentional control input caused China Eastern 737-800 crash: report By Greg Waldron 17 May 2022 Save article US government sources have told the Wall Street Journal that the crash of a. The planes altitude dropped from 8869m to 1333.5m in the span of three minutes, state news agency China News Service reported, citing VariFlight, a Chinese technology company that provides civil aviation data services. 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. China Eastern has also returned the type to service after a one-month grounding. 2 min read. [9] The aircraft crashed in the mountainous regions of Teng County causing a fire in nearby vegetation. [49], The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was found on 23 March with exterior damage although the internal storage device was believed to be relatively intact. One, the way the plane nosedived had experts scratching their heads as to how the plane got into the. US government sources have told the Wall Street Journal that the crash of a Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines was intentional. . Hopefully a transparent investigation will occur with a clear explanation of how the aircraft rapidly descended, shortly regained control, and then lost control again. An official from the regulatory body said that "safety is serious business" and that the situation was being closely monitored. It's still far too early to know for certain what caused China Eastern Flight 5735 to crash into hillside in southwestern China's Guangxi province on Monday, but videos emerging on social. Given that the aircraft was produced by an American company, the National Transport Safety Board is involved in the investigation. Flight data indicates a China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in March was intentionally put into a nose-dive, according to US media reports. China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province. After this weeks crash, China Eastern grounded all of its 737-800s, Chinas Transport Ministry said. 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. No. U.S. investigators believe someone on board deliberately crashed a China Eastern flight in March, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, in what was China's deadliest air disaster in decades . Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2022. [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. [46] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said a senior official had been appointed as its representative to the inquiry. Notice the Chinese returned the airplane to service, says Cox. 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. China Airlines Flight 006 (callsign "Dynasty 006") was a daily non-stop flight from Taipei to Los Angeles International Airport. [35] Aircraft wreckage and victims' belongings were found, but no signs of human remains were detected. [29][38] The crash site was concentrated within a 30-metre (100ft) radius where most of the wreck was found. An investigation into the cause of Flight MU5735's crash is ongoing as of March 23. [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]. Continental Details Engines Woes, and Its Not Just Cirrus Planes. 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. The plane has been flying since 1998 and has an excellent safety record, said Hassan Shahidi, president of the Flight Safety Foundation. That's about all that is known for certain about the unusual. Of those, nearly 4,300 remain in service, according to Cirium. Goglia says the China Eastern accident appears amazingly similar to the EgyptAir and SilkAir crashes. Let's investigate further. 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. 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. 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. What does the future of aviation look like in 2022? Heavy rain partially filled the impact crater with water which had to be pumped away. In each case, flight-control software pushed the nose down shortly after takeoff, and pilots could not regain control. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? According to US officials familiar with the matter, data from the black box suggests that someone in the cockpit intentionally caused the plane to crash, by pushing the . Mr Zhu said the aircraft did not respond to repeated calls from air controllers during its rapid descent. On 19 February 1985, the Boeing 747SP operating the flight was involved in an aircraft upset accident, following the failure of the No. The pilot who was killed in a Nevada crash last week had long . Early data showed the airliner plunged from 29,000 feet to 8,000 feet, leveled off and then went into a freefall. But Cox warns against placing too much confidence in the descent rates as derived from the ADS-B numbers; in particular he highlights a sequence in the data which appears to show the aircraft stopping its dive at7,425ft, and then climbing, to 8,600ft, before pitching down again and continuing its descent. Flight controls were pushed to put the plane into a dive. By human activity, he means a pilot deliberately commanding the jet to dive. The officials who spoke to ABC News point to the plane's flaps not being engaged and landing gear not put down. Since then, the airline's safety record has drastically. 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. All 123 passengers and nine crew members were killed. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Data recovered from black box suggests human input caused crash, not mechanical problem, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. [5] It was painted in the airline's Yunnan Peacock livery. The airline also insisted a possible cockpit intrusion wasnt plausible, citing information from a March 25 news conference during which Chinese authorities said no emergency alert had been sent beforehand, according to the report. All Rights Reserved Air safety regulators and Boeing officials have not been working on service bulletins or directives stemming from the wreck, which would be issued if authorities believed theres a need to alert airlines to problems during the incident, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation? All rights reserved. EDGE: A new global force in aerospace and defence, FlightGlobal Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2021, Airline Business special: CEOs to watch in 2021, Boeing takes issue with massive Chinese Airbus order, Tara Twin Otter crash follows years of accidents, China says no official information about China Eastern crash released, FAA examining close call at Boston involving Learjet and JetBlue E190, Inside the effort to standardise 100% drop-in sustainable aviation fuel, Madrid reconfigures airspace to simplify arrivals and departures. Flight data from the doomed . Chilling eyewitness accounts of passenger plane that plunged into mountains with 132 on board, Expert reveals very unusual aspect in deadly plane crash. There were no official statements, suggesting that the China Eastern crash was deliberate. Now she believes she's being penalised, NRL live: Parramatta clashes with Melbourne Storm as 2023 season kicks off, New Easter Island Moai statue discovered in volcano crater, Easton Wood backs AFL's player opt-out clause for gambling advertising, Inquest into 75-year-old's flood death hears of desperate last moments, Thirty-four balls and just 29 minutes: Here's how Australia's latest Test batting collapse unfolded. Sources China Eastern Black Box Points to Intentional Nosedive (WSJ) Still, no Chinese airlines have re-started Max flights. [18] It was the first fatal crash involving China Eastern Airlines since November 2004's Flight 5210. Boeing has expressed dismay with Chinas Big Three carriers placing an order for 292 A320neo family jets on 1 July. [45], American agencies responded as representatives of the country where the aircraft was manufactured. A China Eastern flight carrying 132 people crashed Monday. [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. The crash killed all 132 people onboard while flight 5735 was flying between Kunming and Guangzhou. Boeing, however, has long since addressed that problem, without any further incidents. They will examine pieces of the wreckage for clues. 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. Graphic News Ltd 2023. Plane and Pilot builds on more than 50 years of serving pilots and owners of aircraft with the goal of empowering our readers to improve their knowledge and enthusiasm for aviation. The plane that crashed on Monday was a Boeing 737-800, not the Boeing 737 Max, a newer model that was temporarily grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The FAA declined to comment about its role, deferring to the NTSB, which is the US representative to the investigation. The project aims to modernise instrument arrival and departure procedures by adapting them to area navigation and performance-based navigation requirements. After this week's crash, China Eastern grounded all of its 737-800s, China's Transport Ministry said. However, Cox, a former airline pilot who flew 737s, speculates that some unusual type of mechanical issue, or perhaps inaccurate flight data, could also be the cause. Black box data recovered from a China Eastern flight that crashed in March suggests someone in the cockpit intentionally downed the plane, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a preliminary . No distress call was received. While Indonesias air travel market is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, several challenges confront the countrys airlines. Suddenly, about 1h after taking off, it dived steeply, at one point descending at more than 30,000ft per minute, according to publicly available ADS-B data from aircraft tracking site Flightradar24.com. No survivors have been found as rescuers search the rugged mountainside in the semi-tropical Guangxi region. The numbers arent reasonable, says Cox. Faced with mounting pressure, officials eventually provided information on the maintenance history of the plane, the pilots' flight experience, and weather conditions at the time of the crash. Nearly a month after the crash, the airline quietly started returning its 737-800s to service. No survivors were found at the crash site, and the planes black box was recovered several feet underground. But other Chinese airlines continued operating the type. Rescuers have combed mountainous terrain in the search for wreckage from the downed Chinese jet. 22 Mar 2022 Rain has forced the suspension of the search of a remote mountainside in southern China for the black boxes of the China Eastern Airlines plane that plunged from the sky on Monday. Rescue personnel at the crash site of flightMU5735. Shell Aviation: What will it take to Decarbonise Aviation? Key to the investigation is recovering the so-called black boxes - they are usually painted orange for visibility, but the longtime name has stuck. More detailed questions were deleted by censors takeoff, and the Planes Black Box Points to intentional Nosedive ( )... The airplane being shed in the dive started returning its 737-800s to service then! 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