Report: Jet deliberately crashed
US investigators believe someone on board intentionally sent plane into nosedive
US investigators believe someone on board deliberately crashed a China Eastern flight in March, the Wall Street Journal reported, in what was China’s deadliest air disaster in decades.
Investigators probing the crash of a China Eastern Airlines jet are examining whether it was due to intentional action taken on the flight deck, with no evidence so far of a technical malfunction, two people briefed on the matter said.
China Eastern flight MU5375 was travelling from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 when it inexplicably plunged from an altitude of 8,839m (29,000ft) into a mountainside, killing all 132 people on board.
It was mainland China’s deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years.
The pilots did not respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers and nearby planes during the rapid descent, authorities have said.
One source told investigators were looking at whether the crash was a “voluntary” act. So-called black box flight data recorders recovered from the site were sent to the United States for analysis.
That data shows that someone – possibly a pilot or someone who had forced their way into the cockpit – input orders to send the Boeing 737800 into a nosedive, according to the Journal on Tuesday, which cited people familiar with the probe.
“The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit,” the Journal quoted “a person who is familiar with American officials’ preliminary assessment” as saying.
US officials believe their conclusion is backed up by the fact that Chinese investigators have so far not indicated any problems with the aircraft or flight controls that could have caused the crash and would need to be addressed in future flights, the newspaper said.
A woman who asked to be identified only by her surname, Wen, who lost her husband in the crash, said yesterday that she had not seen the Wall Street Journal report but hoped the results of the investigation would be released soon.
Wen said she and other victims’ family members had signed an agreement with China Eastern that included a point about compensation, but she declined to say how much had been offered.
The Wall Street Journal said the airline had said in a statement that no evidence had emerged that could determine whether or not there were any problems with the accident aircraft.
In a summary of an unpublished preliminary crash report last month, Chinese regulators did not point to any technical recommendations on the 737-800, which has been in service since 1997 with a strong safety record, according to experts.
US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy said in a May 10 interview that board investigators and Boeing had travelled to China to assist the Chinese investigation.
She noted that the investigation to date had not found any safety issues that would require any urgent actions.
Homendy said if the board has any safety concerns it will “issue urgent safety recommendations”.
The NTSB assisted Chinese investigators with the review of black boxes at its US lab in Washington at China’s request.