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FILE-CHINA-US-AVIATION-BOEING-CRASH
(FILES) This file photo taken on March 11, 2019 shows an Air China Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane after it was grounded at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing. - China's three biggest airlines have filed claims seeking compensation from Boeing over the grounding and delayed delivery of 737 MAX 8 aircraft following two deadly crashes, Chinese state media reported on May 22, 2019. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
On Monday afternoon, a China Eastern Airlines Corp. plane carrying over 130 passengers and crew crashed into the mountains of southern China, igniting a global search for answers as to what led the seven-year-old airliner to plummet from the sky.
The investigation will be led by China's aviation regulator, while the National Transportation Safety Board has appointed a senior air-safety investigator as a US representation.
Chinese Airliner Crashes With 132 Aboard
Technical advisers will include representatives from Boeing, CFM International (a joint venture between General Electric Co. and France's Safran SA), and the Federal Aviation Administration. This is standard practice when a Boeing airliner crashes outside of the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Unreal footage of China Eastern Airlines flight #MU5735 a Boeing 737-89P (B-1791) literally 90 degree nose dive from FL290 into a forest in China causing a forest fire. pic.twitter.com/8hd8b0hro0
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) March 21, 2022
According to China's Civil Aviation Administration, the jet carried 123 passengers and nine crew members. Rescue teams were dispatched to the scene, but it was unclear whether there were any survivors. If all passengers are confirmed dead, it will be the deadliest plane crash in China in three decades.
The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800. The Boeing 737 MAX, which was grounded in 2019 after two catastrophic incidents, is an older-generation jet. In China, the MAX has yet to restart commercial service.
According to the video released by local media, the plane nosedived towards the ground in Wuzhou in the southern region of Guangxi. Chinese officials believe it is the country's worst air catastrophe in over a decade, NY Post reported.
There has been no official news from the Chinese government on the status of all 132 persons onboard more than 12 hours after the disaster. Officials claimed the plane was traveling at around 30,000 feet when it abruptly began descending vertically and crashed into isolated mountains, igniting a conflagration large enough to be seen on NASA satellite photographs. The cause of the plane's unexpected demise is yet unknown.
In the aftermath of the incident, separate footage showed massive smoke and flames pouring from the crash site. According to local media, villagers discovered plane debris dispersed over the area.
Investigators Will Look at a Variety of Causes of the Plane Crash
Despite the lack of instant information about the number of people killed or injured, China Eastern expressed its sympathy to those on board. According to CNN, the airline issued a statement saying, "The firm extends its sorrowful condolences to the passengers and crew members who died in this plane crash."
Investigators will probe into various causes for the incident, including terrorism, technical faults, a mid-air collision, and suicide by crash. The plane's rapid vertical drop indicates a likely technical failure, according to experts.
Even though the cruising phase of a flight accounts for most of the flight time, crashes are uncommon. According to Boeing, just 13 percent of fatal commercial accidents occurred during the cruise phase between 2011 and 2020, compared to 28 percent on the final approach and 26 percent on landing.
A rescue officer said Flight 5735 disintegrated upon impact, and there was no trace of life amid the debris, as per USA Today.
In recent years, the 737-800, which is part of Boeing's next-generation family, has encountered some troubles. The FAA requested an inspection of heavily used 737 NGs for wing support cracks in 2019, and many planes were found to have wing cracks.
The plane was seen in a straight nosedive shortly before the collision on video, which is believed could imply the flight crew lost control of the plane. According to Brickhouse, a former student trainee at the National Transportation Safety Board, the aircraft's abrupt drop in altitude was one factor that attracted attention. In less than three minutes, the plane dropped from 30,000 feet to roughly 9,000 feet.
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