An investigation into the fatal Flight 5735 that killed 132 people after it crashed in China on Monday found that at least one piece of the plane broke off six miles before impact.
Chinese officials said that if the part is confirmed to belong to a Boeing 737-800 operated by China Eastern Airlines, the plane may have crashed in mid-air before the crash.
It adds to the mystique of the fatal flight from Kunming in Yunnan province to Guangzhou, carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, before crashing into a mountainside near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region.
A piece believed to be from the aircraft, about 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) long and 10 centimeters (four inches) wide, was found on farmland, Zheng Xi, head of the Guangxi Fire and Rescue Team, said at a briefing. for the accident.
At this early stage in the investigation, officials say it’s impossible to know if the piece broke off as a result of “stress” during the dive or broke off before the fatal descent into the hillside.
Rescuers with belongings wrapped in bags descend a stepped hillside after conducting a search operation near the China Eastern crash site on Thursday.
The wreckage of the crashed passenger plane was found at the crash site in Tengxian County. An investigation into the fatal Flight 5735, which killed 132 people after it crashed in China on Monday, found that at least one piece of the plane broke off six miles before impact.
Chinese officials have said that if the part is confirmed to belong to China Eastern Airlines’ Boeing 737-800, the plane could have broken up mid-air before crashing (wreckage at crash site pictured).
Former Federal Aviation Administration Chief of Air Accident Investigation Jeff Guzzetti believes it most likely happened during the hard fall phase from a cruising altitude of about 29,000 feet in about one minute and 35 seconds.
“From my point of view, these are parts of the plane as it crashes,” he said.
“The question is, what was that piece and when did it come off?”
Flight 5735 dived into a hillside 100 miles from its intended destination in Guangzhou without any emergency radio calls from the pilots, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Air crash investigators and safety experts have pointed to the mystery of the crash, as aircraft such as the 737-800 are designed in such a way that they do not dive as aggressively.
This means that such a long nose down could only be explained by the failure of the aircraft or the actions of the pilot.
A Chinese passenger plane with 132 people on board has crashed in a mountainous area in southern China. A review of Flightradar24 data from Bloomberg News found that the aircraft was flying at “much higher” than normal when it dived, “perhaps approaching the speed of sound.”
A review of Flightradar24 data from Bloomberg News found that the aircraft was flying at “much higher” than normal when it dived, “perhaps approaching the speed of sound.”
This speed helps explain the detail found six miles from the crash site, as an investigation into the 1997 SilkAir 737-300 crash in Indonesia suggested that light wing and tail components could have come off on jetliners like the Boeing 737. .
The fateful SilkAir flight was also traveling at near the speed of sound before crashing into a river – and the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee concluded that the captain most likely committed it as a murder-suicide.
The data also showed that the aircraft remained largely intact as it continued to broadcast its position up to 3,225 feet.
A Chinese Boeing 737-800 crashed into muddy ground and scattered parts of the plane and passengers’ belongings over a wide area, ending hope of finding survivors.
Authorities have not yet announced the number of victims of the crash, but all 132 people on board are believed to have died after rescuers suggested that the fire that resulted from the crash “completely burned” the passengers.
The search area at the crash site was expanded today as hundreds of searchers headed into the muddy, wooded hills to try to find the passenger plane’s second black box.
Workers carry a suitcase at the crash site of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 flying from Kunming to Guangzhou in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China on Thursday.
Three days after the crash, larger debris was found for the first time, including engine components and a white wing section with a red and blue China Eastern logo, state broadcaster CCTV said.
On Wednesday, one of the black boxes was found, believed to be a cockpit voice recorder. His outer casing was damaged, investigators said, but the orange cylinder was relatively intact.
The recording material survived the impact in relatively good condition and was sent to Beijing for analysis, the official said.
The cockpit voice recorder will provide investigators with detailed information about the conversations between the three pilots, one more than is normally required aboard a Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
China Eastern’s Boeing 737-800 was flying at an altitude of 29,000 feet when it suddenly nose-dived into a remote mountainous area on Monday, starting a fire in the surrounding forest that could be seen on NASA satellite imagery. No survivors found.
Rescuers work at the crash site of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 in Wuzhou.
Soldiers stand in line as they prepare to go to the crash site of China Eastern Flight 5735 to search for the black box on Thursday.
On Thursday, search parties combed the ground vegetation and soil with sticks and even bare hands on rain-soaked slopes, state television reported. Some of them also carried thermal imaging cameras to detect signs of life.
The distraught relative, who was supported by two men, approached the entrance to the crash site, wiping tears from her eyes.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday it has not yet decided whether investigators will travel to China in light of strict visa and quarantine requirements.
The aircraft, flight number MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou, had an accident over the city of Wuzhou before crashing into a mountainside from 29,100 feet on Monday.
Local media identified the plane’s captain as Yang Hongdu, the son of a former airline pilot who aviation officials said had an “excellent” safety record.
The first officer was Zhang Zhengping, a 58-year-old man with 40 years of experience and over 30,000 hours of safe flight, the Times reported.
A rescue official reportedly said the plane was completely destroyed and the fire that resulted from the crash tore up bamboo and trees before being extinguished. China Eastern expressed “deep condolences” after confirming the death of 123 passengers and nine crew members on board, adding that all of the victims were Chinese.
An aerial view shows scorched earth next to a huge crater at the crash site in the Guangxi area.
Shocking CCTV footage has surfaced on social media, allegedly showing the plane flying vertically towards the ground moments before the crash.
Horrifying CCTV footage has surfaced on social media, allegedly showing the plane flying vertically towards the ground moments before the crash.
FlightRadar tracking data showed the aircraft was flying at 29,100 feet at 2:20 pm. It dropped to just over 9,000 feet in about two minutes, and 3,225 feet in another 20 seconds. The data points to a vertical descent at 31,000 feet per minute, or about 350 miles per hour.
The altitude data also shows the aircraft climbing to about 75,000 feet before beginning its final descent.
The incident represents China’s deadliest plane crash in nearly three decades. The deadliest Chinese commercial flight crash was the 1994 China Northwest Airlines crash, which killed all 160 people on board.
China Eastern is based in Shanghai and is one of China’s top three carriers with over 600 aircraft, including 109 Boeing 737-800s.
Altitude data also shows the aircraft recovering altitude at about 7,500 feet before beginning its final descent, though commentators warn that the numbers could be anomalies.