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China plane crash: Status of probe and everything you need to know
China Eastern is carrying out a comprehensive investigation of its own.
As experts struggle to understand what led to the crash of a China Eastern Airline plane on Monday - killing all 132 people on board - the recovery of one of two 'black boxes', or flight data recorders, may provide a few answers. The Boeing 737-800 NG jet plunged out of the sky at close to the speed of sound before slamming into a hillside in Guangxi in southern China. Aviation experts are so far baffled by the plane's behaviour in the final few seconds. Bloomberg News earlier said a review of data showed the pilots had not answered calls from air traffic controllers after the plane dived. Bloomberg later said officials had released details about the pilots - all three had valid licenses and health certificates, and were experienced. China Eastern is carrying out a comprehensive investigation of its own. "Everything is subject to the investigation," it said, clarifying that grounding its Boeing 737-800 fleet doesn't necessarily mean there are any safety issues with the aircraft.
Here's what we know about the plane crash so far:
Hard evidence:
Black boxes from the wreckage will give safety investigators their most conclusive evidence on what caused the jetliner to slam into a hillside two days ago. Search teams retrieved one from the mangled parts on Wednesday.
While the authorities didn’t say which of the two black boxes were found, black boxes can store audio recordings from the cockpit and data on hundreds of flight parameters -- from speed and altitude to flap positioning and heading, that help investigators recreate the final fateful moments before a crash.
Also read | One black box found in China Eastern plane crash
Good weather at the time of the accident
According to reports, there were no adverse weather conditions at the time of the accident. The aircraft is believed to have maintained normal communication links from take-off in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, until the sudden drop in altitude, Civil Aviation Administration of China official Mao Yanfeng said.
No maintenance issue with the jet
Sun Shiying, the head of China Eastern’s Yunnan subsidiary, dismissed any maintenance issue with the jet. Shiying said the plane was brought into the fleet in June 2015 and its maintenance followed a strict plan and its technical condition was normal and stable.
Even before the takeoff on the fateful day, the aircraft checked all maintenance release standards and airworthiness requirements.
Also read | Boeing 737-800 considered safest, but crashed a few times | Here's a list
Hours of flying experience
The captain had 6,709 hours in the 737 model, while the first co-pilot had a total of 31,769 flying hours, officials said at a briefing. The second co-pilot had 556 hours of flying hours experience. They all had good performance records.
Jet dived at close to the speed of sound
The jet was traveling at close to the speed of sound in the moments before it slammed into a hillside, according to a Bloomberg News review of flight-track data.
Such an impact may complicate the task for investigators because it can obliterate evidence and, in rare cases, damage a plane’s data and voice recorders that are designed to withstand most crashes.
No response
After the flight tipped into a deadly dive, air-traffic controllers tried multiple times to reach the pilots but received no response to their calls, an official with China’s Civil Aviation Administration said at a press briefing.
The plane disappeared from radar screens at 2:23 p.m. local time, three minutes after it started a steep descent, the official, Zhu Tao, said at the end of the first full day of searching through the wreckage.
Also read | Pilots of doomed Chinese plane that crashed didn't respond to calls
Plane, pilots fit
The Boeing jet met airworthiness standards before taking off, and technical conditions were stable, Shiying said. The nine crew members were experienced and in good health, he said.
(With agency inputs)
