A China Eastern Airlines plane with 132 people on board en route to Guangzhou from Kunming crashed in southern China’s Guangxi province on Monday. No survivors have yet been found in what is one of China’s worst civil aviation disasters in over a decade.
Flight MU5735 had on board 123 passengers and nine crew members. While the total number of deaths remains uncertain or now, it is believed that there is little chance of survival for those on board, though search efforts continue today.
Confirming fatalities, China Eastern said in a statement: “The company expresses its deep condolences for the passengers and crew members who died in the plane crash.” Without providing further details, the carrier has promised to actively cooperate with the investigation.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and Ministry of Emergency management have sent teams of almost 1,000 responders to assist with search and rescue efforts at the site of the crash in Teng County, which is located in a mountainous region. However, lack of daylight and challenging terrain have made rescue efforts challenging.
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
The crashed jet was a Boeing 737-800, the world’s most commonly flown commercial aircraft series, is also widely considered to be one of the world’s safest civilian aircraft. Flight-tracking data from information provider VariFlight showed that the six-year-old plane was flying steadily on its path until it abruptly lost altitude and plunged around 8,000m in two minutes.
Surveillance footage provided by a local mining company showed the plane nosediving before crashing into dense forest cover. Local residents reported that the crash resulted in a small forest fire and resulted in plane debris being scattered across the area.
Flightradar24 data for China Eastern Airlines flight #MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 21, 2022
At 06:20:59 UTC the Boeing 737-800 aircraft started to lose altitude very fast. At 06:22:35 UTC last ADS-B signal showed vertical speed -31.000 feet per minute.https://t.co/Lwo8klGf8g pic.twitter.com/UEZaa9asua
The Shanghai-headquartered China Eastern, the country’s second-largest carrier by passenger numbers, has grounded its entire fleet of 102 jets for now. It also changed the colours of its website and social media pages to black and white to indicate a period of mourning.
The China Eastern flight dived 29,000 feet in its last 150 seconds. Like a missile. Grab from that clip on the right captures what is believed to be the plane diving straight down, nearly 90°. Truly horrifying. Answers hopefully soon. Prayers for the families of those on board. pic.twitter.com/ZbZnrCaslj
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) March 21, 2022
President Xi Jinping has ordered a thorough investigation into the accident to ensure the “absolute safety of aviation operations”. Furthermore, the State Council, China’s cabinet, said that it will “strengthen the investigation of safety hazards in the civil aviation sector to ensure the absolute safety of aviation operations and people’s lives in the future.”
While the cause of the mishap is yet to be established, Wang Ya’nan, the chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge, told Chinese state-owned media house Global Times on Monday that the flight data gave no indication that the pilot had made any contact with ground control. “It is likely that the aircraft lost engine power at cruising altitude, resulting in the pilot losing control of the aircraft. It could be a very serious technical failure in which the plane inevitably enters a high-speed descent,” he said. Wang also acknowledged that the specific cause of the accident could only be determined after the jet’s black box is recovered.
This is the first aircraft mishap in China since the fatal Yichun crash in 2010 that killed 44 people.