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On Monday 21 March a commercial Boeing 737-800 plane belonging to China Eastern Airlines, one of the country’s three major airlines, crashed into the mountainside in southern China. The model of aircraft has one of the best safety records. Plus this particular plane was only seven years old.
What We Know About the Plane Crash in China
The plan was a commercial Boeing 737-800 in service as a China Eastern Airlines passenger jet. Flight MU5735 was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou with over 120 passengers. Just over three quarters of the way through the journey the plane abruptly plunged. Taking a vertical dive from a cruising altitude of about 8,900 meters. Crashing into the mountainside and starting a fire. According to FlightRadar24, a flight tracking website, the aircraft dropped from an altitude of 8,870 metres to 2,393 metres in just over a minute.
A local resident stated, “The plane fell vertically from the sky”. Adding that “Although I was far away, I could still see that it was a plane. The plane did not emit smoke during the fall. It fell into the mountains and started a fire.”
No one knows yet what the cause of the crash was. Judging by previous plane crash investigations it could be a while before we find out. Investigators usually try to find and analyze the plane’s flight-data recorder and cockpit voice recorder to help gain insights into a flight’s final moments. Although search teams have yet to find those belonging to this plane. As investigators on site face difficult terrain and poor weather during their search. State media in China said the site of the plane crash was hemmed in by mountains on three sides. With a single small path as the only access.
Dan Elwell, a former Federal Aviation Administration head, states “Accidents that start at cruise altitude are usually caused by weather, deliberate sabotage, or pilot error”.
No Survivors
After 24 hours of searching, rescue teams have yet to find any survivors from the plane crash, and the state has announced that there are no survivors. Furthermore, experts say that due to the speed of the crash there is little chance anyone on board survived.
Much of the plane was obliterated, although search teams have collected some personal belongs of those on board such as a letter, wallet and identification cards.