China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 was operating an afternoon passenger service with 132 onboard. China’s government confirmed the “accident in a mountain range” in Tengxian, Guangxi, and China’s civil aviation authority said of the 132 people onboard, 9 were crew members and 123 passengers.
China says one of two black boxes from the China Eastern plane crash was found in severely damaged condition, an official of the aviation regulator told reporters on Wednesday. The recorder is so damaged that they are not able to tell whether it is the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder. More than 2,000 emergency workers have been deployed to the site.
The pilots didn’t respond to calls from air-traffic controllers after the plane tipped into its nosedive, authorities said.
Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily reported that some relatives of passengers visited the crash site to pay their respects, while sheltering under umbrellas in the rain. Rain in southern China on Wednesday had earlier halted the search for victims with risks of landslides that could endanger rescue workers scouring the difficult, heavily forested terrain, state television reported.
The aircraft involved was a young, 6-year old Boeing 737-800 — not to be confused with the newer Boeing 737 Max. The Boeing 737-800 is one of the world’s most popular, best-selling airline jets for short-haul and mid-haul flights, and over 5,000 of this specific variant (the -800) have been delivered by Boeing to airline customers worldwide. The 737-800 is in service with airlines including American Airlines, Ryanair, FlyDubai, Qantas, Ethiopian Airlines, and KLM. The 737-800 is part of the 737 NG or Next-Generation family – with more than 7,000 delivered since 1993 – and it has a strong safety record after nearly three decades of flights. The 162- to 189-seat 737-800 was launched on September 5, 1994. The NG is the predecessor to the 737 Max. The Max was grounded worldwide for 20 months after two fatal crashes killed 346. It remains grounded in China. China was the first country to ground the Max after the second crash. The US and most other countries cleared the planes to return to service more than a year ago. Chinese regulators allowed the Max to resume flying in December, with changes, but the planes have not yet returned to service.
China Eastern Airlines has grounded all of its Boeing 737-800 passenger jets following the crash, the airline has 102 of this variant of the 737. The airline is one of the three major airlines in China, with hubs at Shanghai's Pudong and Hongqiao airports, as well as Kunming Airport in southwest China – where this flight departed. The airline operates a fleet of young Airbus and Boeing aircraft to destinations in Australia, South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. China Eastern Airlines is part of the SkyTeam alliance.
China has among the best airline safety record in the world, operating a young fleet of aircraft predominantly from Boeing and Airbus. China’s busy domestic market operates within the rules and regulations of a very strict regulator, and prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, China would operate around 10,000 daily domestic flights. The last fatal jet accident was over a decade ago, back in 2010.
China will lead the investigation, which will include a representative from the US crash investigator, called the National Transportation Safety Board, plus representatives from Boeing and CFM, the General Electric-Safran joint venture that made the engines on this plane.
"Because the investigation has just begun, we are not able to make a clear judgment about the cause of the accident with the information we have so far. The investigation team will spare no effort to collect evidence from all parties and focus on search," a CAAC official said.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun wrote to employees: “We have been in close communication with our customer and regulatory authorities since the accident, and have offered the full support of our technical experts to the investigation led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. I will keep you apprised of information about the accident as investigation protocols allow. In the meantime, trust that we will be doing everything we can to support our customer and the accident investigation during this difficult time, guided by our commitment to safety, transparency, and integrity at every step.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was “shocked” to learn of the incident, according to state media CCTV.
Boeing shares shed roughly 3.5% in Monday trading. Boeing reported its third annual loss in a row in January, disclosing $5.5bn in costs tied to manufacturing flaws, which have forced the company to pause deliveries of the company’s 787 Dreamliners for most of the last 17 months.
* The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir