The China Eastern Airlines Corp. plane was on its way to Guangzhou when it nosed over at cruise altitude and crashed.
That’s about all we know about the extraordinary disaster, which is believed to have killed all 132 persons on board in China’s deadliest commercial aviation catastrophe in more than a decade.
Investigators still figuring out the cause of China Eastern plane crash
According to expert crash investigators and earlier accident reports, while there have been a few incidents in which an airliner dropped from cruising altitude, few, if any, fit the severe profile of the Boeing Co. 737-800 as it pointed downward toward the ground.
Investigators will be trying to figure out why the plane made such an abrupt and violent plunge, which sets it distinct from previous mishaps, while they seek for the plane’s two crash-proof recorders and begin poring over clues. They’ll look at the weather the plane was in, if the pilots made any distress calls, any clues of suspected problems in the debris, and detailed profiles of the crew.
When Flight MU5735 began plummeting at a significantly greater rate than normal, it was about 29,000 feet (8,839.2 meters) altitude, roughly 160.93 kilometers from its destination – about the point at which the pilots would begin descending to land.
No survivors yet
According to tracking data captured by Flightradar24, instead of gently lowering by a few thousand feet per minute — which generates a scarcely discernible sensation for passengers — it began plunging at more than 30,000 feet per minute within seconds. It dropped over 26,000 feet in around 1 minute and 35 seconds, as per Business World Online.
An aviation official said late Tuesday that no survivors have been located so far after a passenger plane carrying 132 passengers crashed in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. More than 2,000 people have volunteered to help with the rescue effort.
To improve civil aviation safety, the CAAC has called for a screening of hidden dangers. It noted that concrete steps should be done to improve the study of hidden threats related to aircraft maintenance, flying weather circumstances, staff qualifications, and operational abilities. Boeing China stated on Tuesday that it is working with China Eastern Airlines and that its technical specialists are ready to assist the CAAC with the inquiry, Big News Network reported.
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