E-Paper
China plane crash: What happened to Eastern Airline flight MU5735?
Boeing 737 plane crash: Media cited a rescue official as saying the plane had disintegrated, and a fire sparked by the crash destroyed bamboo and trees before being put out.
The China Eastern Airline plane that crashed in the country's Guangxi province on Monday was carrying 132 people - 123 passengers and nine crew members. The plane - a Boeing 737-800 - went down over mountains in southern China, causing a forest fire, while on a flight from Kunming to Guangzhou - a distance of around 1,340 km and a flying time of approximately two hours. The number of casualties is unknown but initial reports say there are ‘no signs’.
State broadcaster CCTV said China's aviation body, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, has rushed emergency rescue teams to the crash site.
READ: Chinese Eastern Airline plane crash - A look at China's past air accidents
Media cited a rescue official as saying the plane had disintegrated. A fire sparked by the crash destroyed bamboo and trees before being put out.
What happened to China Eastern Airline flight MU5735?
> The flight departed the southwestern city of Kunming at 1.11 pm (10.41 am India time).
> It was due to land in Guangzhou, on China's south coast, at 3:05 p.m. (0705 GMT).
> Radar showed the aircraft making a steep descent and contact was lost over Wuzhou city.
READ: China plane crash: Video shows debris and wreckage from site
> Online weather data showed partly cloudy conditions with good visibility in Wuzhou at the time of the crash.
> The plane was cruising at 29,100 feet at 11.50 am India time.
READ: China plane crash: 132 on board, search on but 'no signs of survivors’
> Around 135 seconds later, next available data (from flight-tracking service FlightRadar24) showed it had descended to 9,075 feet.
> Its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet, some 20 seconds after that steep descent. At the time the plane was travelling at 376 knots per hour.
> Tracking stopped at 2.22 pm (11.52 am India time).
READ: China Eastern Airlines website turns black-and-white in sign of respect
With input from agencies
