The Boeing 737-800 was cruising at altitude when it suddenly made a near-vertical descent, falling into a mountain at high speed. These people said data from a black box recovered in the crash showed that input from the controls pushed the plane into a fatal dive.
“The plane did what it was told to do in the cockpit, including analyzing information extracted from the plane’s damaged flight-data recorder,” said a person familiar with the initial assessment by US officials.
Also outlining the assessment of US officials, this person said: Chinese officials, who are leading the investigation, have so far noted any mechanical or flight-control problems with the aircraft involved in the March 21 crash in southern China. Not marked. That model is an activist of the global aviation industry and is part of a family of Boeing aircraft that have one of the best safety records in commercial flight.
People familiar with the matter said that the information gathered so far in the China Eastern investigation has drawn the attention of US officials involved in the investigation to the pilot’s actions. They said there was also a possibility that someone else on board the plane may have entered the cockpit and intentionally caused the accident.
Neither the Boeing Company nor the air safety regulator are acting on any service bulletins or safety instructions arising out of the accident, people familiar with the matter said. Such messages will be used if officials believe there is a need to alert airlines and pilots of problems encountered in a crash or if details are needed in the aircraft.
An accident investigation may reveal previously unknown evidence that may strengthen or weaken the initial assessment. A person familiar with US officials’ initial assessment said Americans do not have all the information available to their Chinese counterparts.
US officials’ preliminary assessment has not been previously reported. In April, trade publication Leahm News & Analysis reported that preliminary readouts of the China Eastern aircraft’s flight-data recorder suggested intentional pilot input into the controls.
In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, China Eastern said no evidence had emerged to determine whether there was a problem with the plane involved in the crash. The airline reiterated its senior official’s statement from March that the health and family condition of the pilots was good, and added that their financial condition was also in good shape.
The airline said it was not responsible for investigating the accident and cited official announcements, including the Chinese government’s summary of its preliminary report released on April 20. The summary stated that data restoration and analysis of the damaged black box were still in progress.
“Any informal speculation may interfere with the investigation of the accident and affect the real progress of the global air transport industry,” the airline said.
China’s Civil Aviation Administration, the country’s air safety regulator, did not respond to faxed requests for comment and did not take calls. The agency did not comment on the possible cause of the crash and said investigators continued to investigate the accident last month.
When asked about a possible cockpit intrusion, China Eastern said such a scenario was not plausible. The airline cited information from a March 25 news conference in which Chinese officials said no emergency codes had been sent from the plane before the crash.
After shutting down its entire fleet of the same Boeing model for about a month after the accident, China Eastern began putting its other 737-800s back into passenger service. China Eastern said it continues to inspect aircraft that were manufactured around the time of the plane involved in the crash.
The 737-800 was preceded by Boeing’s 737 MAX model, the latest version of its longer-haul narrow-body jet. After two fatal crashes in other countries that were tied to a faulty flight-control system, Max jets have not returned to commercial flights in China for more than three years.
People familiar with the matter said Chinese officials have not indicated to their US counterparts when they might publicly disclose their official determination from the investigation. The CAAC has said that it will make public any important developments in the investigation in a timely manner.
CAAC completed a preliminary investigation report into the accident, as required under an international aviation treaty. The Chinese agency did not release the document, but provided a summary of the findings, in which it said communications between the crew and air-traffic controllers revealed nothing unusual before the plane landed. It said air traffic controllers tried to contact the plane after seeing it down, but got no response.
It can take about a year or more for accident-investigation agencies to issue their final findings about the cause of the accident and the contributing factors. In some previous crash investigations, international officials have disagreed over whether anyone intentionally crashed the planes.
The crash of China Eastern Flight 5735 presented a new challenge for aviation authorities in the country, which has maintained a strong flight-safety record in recent years. Before the crash, China’s last fatal crash occurred a dozen years ago, and the latest crash marked the deadliest air disaster in China since 1994. China Eastern said in its statement that it has flown safely for 18 years in a row.
The China Eastern Plane disintegrated as soon as it hit the mountain, causing debris to be scattered across the woods and rough terrain. Search and rescue teams did not find any survivors.
The passengers who lost their lives included a 17-year-old boy on their maiden flight, six people traveling together for the funeral and a former accountant who recently took a new job with e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Had gone on to start and get married. her Favourite.
In late March, a team of firefighters found that the jet’s flight-data recorder was buried several feet below about 130 feet from where the plane crashed. Data captured by that instrument as well as the cockpit voice recorder found earlier are expected to play a key role in helping officials determine the cause of the accident.