Chinese jet crash that killed 132 ‘deliberate’

THE China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed in March was intentionally brought down by someone in the cockpit, data retrieved from the black box appear to suggest.

The plane carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members intentionally nosedived under the control of someone on board, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with a preliminary assessment by US officials.

“The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying.

Black box flight data recorders recovered from the site were sent to the United States for analysis after the crash.

A Western official told Reuters that the focus is on the actions of the crew after the preliminary investigation did not find any indication of a technical malfunction. Boeing Co, the maker of the jet, declined to comment and referred questions to the Chinese regulators. The US National Transportation Safety Board did not immediately comment.

The Boeing 737-800 airliner, which was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed in the mountains of Guangxi province, after a sudden plunge from cruising altitude.

It was mainland China’s deadliest aviation disaster in 28 years.