US investigators have reportedly revealed that the China Eastern Flight 5735 was deliberately crashed in southern China in March.
Data from BlackBox revealed that the plane was “intentionally” put into a nosedive rather than a technical fault. Officials working on the incident believe the pilot could have been responsible for this incident, however another crew member or a passenger causing the incident is also possible.
“The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit.”
Spokesperson familiar with American officials’ preliminary assessment
The aircraft’s flight data and cockpit voice recorder were recovered and sent to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for further investigation. Although the CVR was damaged during the crash, it is unclear whether the investigators have been able to retrieve the data or not.
The Incident
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kunming to Guangzhou. On 21 March 2022, the Boeing 737-800 aircraft operating the service descended mid-flight steeply. They struck the ground at high speed in Teng County, Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, killing all 123 passengers and 9 crew members. It is mainland China’s deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years.
According to authorities familiar with the investigation, the pilots did not respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers and nearby planes during the rapid descent.
Relief for Boeing
This new information is a big relief for Boeing. The American planemaker faced a lot of problems during the two fatal MAX crashes and would have been in big trouble if there was a problem with this aircraft.
Chinese authorities also haven’t reported any technical issues. The new report proves that Boeing and its aircraft are currently in the Green Zone. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and NTSB (National Transport Safety Board) didn’t respond further.
“Under the rules regarding crash investigations… only the investigating agency can comment on an open-air accident investigation.”
Boeing spokesperson
The three pilots on board were in completely good health, and they had no financial trouble. The aircraft involved in the incident was around 7 years old. Captain Yang Hongda, First officer Zhang Zhengping and Second officer Ni Gongtao were on board the aircraft.
Feature Image: Reuters
With three pilots in the cockpit, how could this happen? No way they were all complicit. Strange as all hell!
I saw a couple of major news outlets mentioning one of the flight deck crew had been demoted from Captain making approx 1/4 of his previous salary. If true certainly helps to explain his state of mind. But why commit mass homicide??
Who in their right mind will be using China Eastern airlines after this!