China launches airline inspection, search for crash victims continues

The investigation will try to determine why the plane made such an abrupt and severe dive of 9,075 feet.

As the search for China plane crash victims continues, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on Tuesday night has launched a sector-wide two-week inspection for potential safety lapses, reported Reuters. The inspection will involve checks at all regional air traffic control bureaus and will also include the airline companies and flight training institutes to ensure the absolute safety of aviation operations and people's lives.

Debris of the Chinese Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in Guangxi’s Wuzhou on Monday. (REUTERS photo)

The Chinese aviation authorities have said that the investigation is difficult since the aircraft has been severely damaged. Emergency officials and those from the airline and the Civil Aviation Administration of China are scouring the crash site but the debris has either scattered or burnt.

The investigation will try to determine why the plane made such an abrupt and severe dive of 9,075 feet. Boeing has also offered full help in the probe.

A Chinese Eastern Airlines plane - a Boeing-737 - carrying 132 people, including nine crew members crashed in the country's southwestern province of Guangxi on Monday. According to flight-tracking service FlightRadar24, China Eastern flight MU5735 was travelling from Kunming to Guangzhou. The country's aviation regulatory body said that contact with the aircraft was lost over Wuzhou city.

The Boeing plane was six years old and had been cruising at an altitude of 29,100 feet at 0620 GMT. Just over two minutes and 15 seconds later, data showed it had descended to 9,075 feet, reported Reuters.

Since the fatal crash, China Eastern and two other subsidiaries have grounded their fleet of more than 200 Boeing 737-800 jets. After the crash, the website of China Eastern Airlines, mobile app, and some of its other social media platforms were presented in black and white, as a sign of respect or mourning for the assumed victims.

(With agency inputs)