Chinese Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) spokesman Zhu Tao confirmed on Tuesday that no survivors were found in the crash of China Eastern Airlines’ Boeing 737 in the south of the Asian giant this Wednesday, after the discovery of a black box of the plane was reported.
Zhu said at a news conference that no survivors of the 123 passengers on board have been found so far. None of the passengers were foreigners and nine crew members also traveled.
The company also said the plane, responding to flight number MU5735, departed Changshui International Airport in Kunming, Yunnan Province, and entered the Canton Control Zone at a cruising altitude of 8.9 kilometers.
“At 2:20 p.m., the control officer noticed that the aircraft’s altitude decreased sharply, so he immediately called the crew several times but received no answer, and at 2:23 p.m., the aircraft’s radar signal disappeared,” Zhu told international media.
According to records, prior to the incident the aircraft had made 8,986 departures with a total flying time of 18,239 hours. Search and rescue efforts at the crash site are currently ongoing, but no casualties have been found.
Authorities said pilots did not respond to calls from air traffic control when the plane disappeared from radar screens and began its descent three minutes after last contact.
Air tracking site FlightRadar24 said the plane lost almost 21,250 feet (6,477 meters) in just one minute before disappearing from radar screens. After a slight climb, it submerged again, 4,625 feet (1,410 meters) to be 3,225 feet (983 meters) above the ground before disappearing just after 02:22 local time.
As is usual with aircraft accidents, the CAAC invited representatives from Boeing, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in addition to the manufacturer of CFM engines to participate in the investigation.
All of the Asian giant’s 737800s continue to operate normally at the Asian giant, but inspections are expected to be conducted on all aircraft in the coming days.
The China Eastern Boeing 737800 was flying on the KunmingGuangzhou route when it crashed near Wuzhou in south China’s Guangxi province on the afternoon of March 21.
It was reported at a press conference this Wednesday that rescuers had found one of the Boeing 737’s black boxes, according to local media CGTN.