Washington: Flight data from a black box recovered from the China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed in March indicates someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the plane, as per reports. A Western official said that the focus is on the actions of the crew after the preliminary investigation did not find any indication of a technical malfunction.
In March, the Boeing 737-800 jet, which was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed in the mountains of Guangxi, after a sudden plunge from cruising altitude, killing all 123 passengers and nine crew members aboard. It was mainland China’s deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years.
In mid-April, China Eastern resumed use of the 737-800 planes. In a summary of its preliminary crash report last month, Chinese regulators did not point to any technical recommendations on the 737-800, which has been in service since 1997 with a strong safety record, according to experts.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a May 10th interview that board investigators and Boeing had traveled to China to assist the Chinese investigation. She noted that the investigation to date had not found any safety issues that would require any urgent actions. Homendy said if the board has any safety concerns it will “issue urgent safety recommendations.”
Screenshots of the Wall Street Journal story appeared to be censored both on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo and messaging app Wechat on Wednesday morning. The hashtag topics “China Eastern” and “China Eastern black boxes” are banned on Weibo, which cited a breach of relevant laws, and users are unable to share the story in group chats on Wechat.The Civil Aviation Administration of China said on April 11 in response to rumours on the internet of a deliberate crash that the speculation had “gravely misled the public” and “interfered with the accident investigation work.”