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Facts

- A Boeing 737 passenger plane crashed in Guangxi, South China at 2:21 pm on March 21.

- All 132 on board have been confirmed dead, including 123 passengers and nine crew members.

- Two black boxes have been recovered and sent to Beijing for decoding and analysis.

Location of the crash
09:15 2022-03-29
What we know so far about MU5735 crash
Rescuers search the site of a recent plane crash in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 28, 2022. Search work at the site of the recent plane crash in South China is continuing after the second black box was found on Sunday, an official said at a press briefing on Monday afternoon. [Photo/Xinhua]

- Xi, other leaders hold moment of silence for air crash victims (Read more)

- DNA matching completed for all air crash victims: Official (Read more)

06:50 2022-03-29
Xi mourns victims of plane crash

Moment of silence observed at meeting; DNA matching has been completed

President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders observed a moment of silence on Monday to mourn the victims of the China Eastern Airlines plane crash.

07:06 2022-05-19
US denies leak on China Eastern crash
Photo taken on March 27, 2022 shows the second black box recovered at the crash site of the China Eastern Airlines' plane in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

The United States National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed with China's civil aviation authority that no investigation information regarding a crashed China Eastern Airline plane was provided to media, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Wednesday.

This was in response to recent news reports that claimed the flight data indicated someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the jet. A report by The Wall Street Journal said the source was from people familiar with the US officials' preliminary assessment of the crash.

14:40 2022-05-18
China continues in-depth investigation of Wuzhou aircraft crash
Photo taken on March 27, 2022 shows the second black box recovered at the crash site of the China Eastern Airlines' plane in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

The United States National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed with China's civil aviation authority, saying that no investigation information regarding a crashed Eastern China Airline was provided to media, the Civil Aviation Administration of China told Global Times on Wednesday.

It was in response to recent news reports that claimed flight data indicated someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the jet. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the source was from people familiar with the US officials' preliminary assessment.

18:03 2022-04-21
More time needed to determine cause of air crash
A recovery team searches through the debris at the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crash site in Tengxian county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's preliminary report into Flight MU5735 has been formed based on the present facts in line with international practice, an official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China told Xinhua News Agency.

"It is almost impossible to complete the analysis of the causes of a civil aviation accident within 30 days. Thus, the preliminary report does not involve the causes of the accident," said Li Yong, deputy director of the administration's safety office.

09:35 2022-04-21
Damaged black boxes being analyzed
A rescue team member holds the second black box of the MU5735, just recovered and believed to be the flight data recorder, on March 27, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

The two black boxes recovered from the wreckage of Flight MU5735 were severely damaged due to the impact of the crash, and the work of data repair and analysis is ongoing, according to a preliminary investigation released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday.

Flight MU5735 was bound from Kunming, Yunnan province to Guangzhou, Guangdong province on March 21 when it crashed in a mountainous region in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, claiming the lives of all 132 people on board.

19:53 2022-04-20
No abnormalities yet found in MU5735 probe
Photo taken on March 27, 2022 shows the second black box recovered at the crash site of the China Eastern Airlines' plane in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's civil aviation regulator found no abnormalities in the crashed flight MU5735 based on the present facts, according to a preliminary investigation report released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Wednesday.

The report includes information on flight history, crew, maintenance and wreckage distribution.

09:13 2022-04-13
China's civil aviation authority steps up safety checks

BEIJING -- China's civil aviation sector has launched a two-week-long safety overhaul after a passenger plane crashed in southern China in March, said Wu Shijie, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, on Tuesday.

The administration also sent steering groups to various regions to carry out safety supervision in the industry.

The civil aviation sector will further investigate and rectify risks and hidden dangers to prevent major accidents, Wu added.

07:27 2022-04-12
Deadly plane crash rumors dispelled
Rescuers secured by safety ropes conduct search and rescue work at the plane crash site in Tengxian County, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 25, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

What happened to China Eastern Airlines flight still undetermined

The cause of the crash of a China Eastern Airlines aircraft on March 21 is still undetermined, an official with the China Aviation Administration of China said, adding that rumors saying the analysis of the data of the black boxes has been completed and that the co-pilot was responsible are untrue.

18:29 2022-04-11
Cause of airline crash still unknown, authorities say
Photo taken on March 27, 2022 shows the second black box recovered at the crash site of the China Eastern Airlines' plane in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

The cause of the crash of a China Eastern Airlines aircraft on March 21 has yet to be determined, and rumors saying that the analysis of the data of the black boxes has been completed and that the co-pilot is responsible are untrue, an official with the China Aviation Administration of China said.

CAAC has noticed that rumors about the tragedy being spread in the name of government bodies and public security departments have been recently circulating online.

20:57 2022-04-02
US panel arrives in China to assist with plane crash probe
A recovery team searches through the debris at the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crash site in Tengxian county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. LU BOAN/XINHUA

BEIJING - A working group sent by the US National Transportation Safety Board arrived in China on Saturday to help investigate last month's crash of a China Eastern Airlines aircraft, said the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The seven-member panel, consisting of authorized representatives and technical advisors, will participate in the investigation organized by the CAAC.

09:43 2022-04-01
Key task turns to cause of plane crash
A recovery team searches through the debris at the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crash site on Thursday in Tengxian county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Various items from the cockpit have been found, including crew manuals and ID cards. LU BOAN/XINHUA

Preliminary investigation report on Flight MU5735 expected within next 30 days

With search and rescue operations for China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 basically complete, the key task now is to find the cause of the fatal crash, a senior civil aviation safety official said on Thursday.

15:45 2022-03-31
Diary records rescue efforts after air crash

Teng Xingwen, born in April 1994, started to serve in a fire brigade of Nanning, capital city of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in 2019.

When the flight MU5735 crashed in Tengxian county of Wuzhou in Guangxi on March 21, he was summoned to reinforce the search and rescue effort in the first batch.

During the rescue operation, he recorded his both physical and psychological experience. The following are excerpts of his diary.

11:36 2022-03-31
Settlement of plane crash insurance claims underway: regulator
The People's Insurance Co (Group) of China Ltd, one of China's leading insurers, is the chief underwriter of the China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed. The company has started its emergency mechanism for major accident claims and established a special working group. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China's insurance industry is actively settling the insurance claims from the China Eastern Airlines plane crash, the country's top banking and insurance regulator said on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, four insurance companies underwriting the fuselage of the China Eastern Airlines aircraft, flight MU5735, had advanced the airline 116 million yuan (about $18.2 million), according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

10:40 2022-03-31
Investigators move to finding the cause of plane crash
Photo taken on March 27, 2022 shows the second black box recovered at the crash site of the China Eastern Airlines' plane in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

As search and rescue operations of the crashed MU5735 are nearly completed, the key task now is to find out the cause of the fatal accident and a preliminary report will be completed within 30 days of the accident, a senior civil aviation safety official said on Thursday.

"Both flight recorders, or black boxes, from the aircraft was recovered within seven days after the crash, and the identification of all passengers was confirmed within eight days. Currently, the key search and rescue operations are almost concluded," Zhu Tao, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's aviation safety office, said at a news conference held in Wuzhou of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

10:21 2022-03-31
Major search, rescue mission for China plane crash completed
Search and rescue team members of the Guangxi Armed Police corps uncover wreckage of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 at the crash site in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Saturday. JIANG HUAIPENG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

NANNING -- The emergency response headquarters' major search and rescue operation for the recent plane crash of China Eastern Airlines has been basically completed, an official said on Thursday.

All emergency response commanders and on-site search and rescue personnel completed the search for the two black boxes of the passenger plane in seven days, while finishing the identification and DNA testing of all the passengers in eight days, Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told a press briefing on Thursday.

07:57 2022-03-29
All 132 victims of China's plane crash identified

NANNING -- All 132 victims of the China Eastern Airlines plane crash have been identified through DNA testing, an official told a press briefing on Monday.

After the accident, public security authorities across 20 provincial-level regions were organized to identify the victims by collecting DNA samples of those on board and their relatives, said Liu Kaihui, an official with the Ministry of Public Security.

A total of 20 DNA experts have conducted DNA testing and analysis of the samples, and the identity of the final victim was confirmed Monday morning, Liu said.

20:18 2022-03-28
Investigation work continues for MU5735 as 'black boxes' are analyzed
A rescue team member holds the second black box of the MU5735, just recovered and believed to be the flight data recorder, on March 27, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

As decoding and analysis work for the two "black boxes" recovered from the MU5735 crash is ongoing, other avenues for investigation are also progressing, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Monday.

Two black boxes were recovered and sent to Beijing for decoding and analysis - one on Sunday and the other on Wednesday, Zhu Tao, head of the CAAC safety office, said at a news conference in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

17:35 2022-03-28
DNA matching completed for MU5735 victims
Photo taken on March 27, 2022 shows a memorial event at the crash site of the China Eastern Airlines plane to mourn the deaths of the 132 people involved in the accident in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

DNA matching for all 132 victims onboard China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 was completed as of Monday morning, an official said on Monday.

Authorities are making a plan on how victims' remains and recovered belongings should be transferred, Zhu Tao, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's aviation safety office, said at a news conference.

17:12 2022-03-28
How will insurance work for MU5735 victims?

Chinese insurers are stepping up efforts to offer quick support following the crash last Monday of a China Eastern Airlines plane with 132 people aboard. They have begun verifying information of insured passengers and preparing compensation payments. Here are some facts about the process.

[Photo/IC]

Who underwrote MU5735?

15:17 2022-03-28
Watch it again: News conference on rescue work after plane crash

Chinese officials are holding a news conference Monday afternoon to provide updates on the Boeing 737 jetliner crash in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The data storage unit for the second black box of China Eastern Airlines MU5735 survived the impact and remained in relatively good shape, while other parts of the device were severely damaged, an official said on Sunday.

07:22 2022-03-28
Psychologists support victims' families
Search and rescue team members of the Guangxi Armed Police corps uncover wreckage of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 at the crash site in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Saturday. JIANG HUAIPENG/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

Psychologists are working closely with family members of the victims of flight MU5735, and have offered help to 357 relatives as of Sunday noon.

However, long-time psychological assistance and sustained support will be needed to help them recover from the trauma, experts said.

07:01 2022-03-28
Wrapup: All 132 on board confirmed dead
A memorial was held at the crash site of the China Eastern Airlines jet on Sunday morning for the 132 people who were killed in the accident in Tengxian county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. ZHOU HUA/XINHUA

Families hold memorial at crash site; second black box sent to Beijing

Despite an intensive search and rescue effort and weeklong prayers for miracles nationwide, all 132 people on board the China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed on March 21 have been confirmed to have died.

19:41 2022-03-27
Compensation process launched for families of crash victims
Participants of the press conference on the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 aircraft accident observe a moment of silence in Wuzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 26, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

China Eastern Airlines has officially launched the compensation process for the crashed Flight MU5735 and requests from family members of the victims will be fully respected, the company said on Sunday.

The plane crashed in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Monday afternoon. The 132 people - 123 passengers and nine crew members - onboard the plane were confirmed dead on Saturday night.

19:00 2022-03-27
Counseling provided to families of flight accident victims

Experts are paying close attention to the psychological status of family members of victims of Flight MU5735 and have offered help to 357 family members, a leading expert said on Sunday.

At present, 99 psychological experts are working in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, where the plane crashed on Monday. They are divided into 12 teams, with 11 stationed in hotels accommodating victims' family members and one at the crash site, according to Yin Ping, a psychological expert.

"There is a special team with two experts for each of the families, offering psychological counseling services all the way through," he said. By Sunday at noon, experts had given professional counseling 1,611 times.

17:57 2022-03-27
Data unit on second flight recorder in good shape, officials say
A rescue team member holds the second black box of the MU5735, just recovered and believed to be the flight data recorder, on March 27, 2022.[Photo/Xinhua]

The data storage unit for the second black box of China Eastern Airlines MU5735 survived the impact and remained in relatively good shape, while other parts of the device were severely damaged, an official said on Sunday.

The unit has been sent to professional laboratories for decoding, Zhu Tao, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's aviation safety office, said at a news conference.

16:48 2022-03-27
Mourning ceremony held for crash victims in S China
Personnel involved in search and rescue face the direction of the crashed jet and stand in solemn silence for three minutes as a tribute to the victims in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on March 27, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

A mourning ceremony was held for the 132 victims - 123 passengers and nine crew members - of the crashed MU5735 aircraft at the search and rescue site on Sunday afternoon.

All people onboard the China Eastern Airlines jet were confirmed dead on Saturday night.

13:01 2022-03-27
Search and rescue work continues at plane crash site in Tengxian county, Guangxi
Rescuers secured by safety ropes conduct search and rescue work at the plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 26, 2022.  [Photo/Xinhua]

All 132 people on board China Eastern Airlines' plane that crashed Monday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were dead, an official announced Saturday.

The national emergency response headquarters for the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 aircraft accident on March 21 made the announcement at a press conference late night on Saturday after six days of all-out search and rescue efforts.

11:03 2022-03-27
Second black box of China's crashed plane recovered
A rescue team member holds the second black box of the MU5735, just recovered and believed to be the flight data recorder, on March 27, 2022.[Photo/Xinhua]

NANNING -- The second black box of the China Eastern Airlines' plane that crashed Monday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was recovered Sunday, according to the national emergency response headquarters for the accident.

The Boeing 737 aircraft, which departed from Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, and was bound for Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, crashed into a mountainous area in Tengxian County, Guangxi, at around 2:38 pm Monday. All 132 people on board the plane were dead, according to the headquarters.

22:22 2022-03-26
All 132 people on board China's crashed plane dead, official says

All 132 people - 123 passengers and nine crew members - onboard the China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed on Monday in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region are dead, a senior official of Civil Aviation Administration of China said on Saturday night.

Despite of the intensive search and rescue operations since Monday, there has been no sign of life at the crash site, Hu Zhenjiang, deputy head of Civil Aviation Administration of China, said at a news conference held in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

19:10 2022-03-26
Identity of 120 people onboard the crashed plane confirmed
Workers remove wreckage at a plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 25, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

The identity of 120 people, including 114 passengers and six crew members, onboard the crashed MU5735 has been confirmed by the public security department, head of the search and rescue team said on Saturday. 

Local civil affairs department have arranged funeral service assistance. All the remains and belongings of the victims have been properly stored, said Zheng Xi, head of the Fire and Rescue Brigade of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

17:25 2022-03-26
No explosive component found at plane crash site
Rescuers conduct search and rescue work at the core site of the plane crash in Tengxian County, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 25, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

No traces of explosive have been found from the samples of the debris of MU5735 so far, head of the Guangxi Fire and Rescue Brigade said, on Saturday.

"After examining 41 of the 66 samples of the debris sent to the laboratory, no traces of common organic and inorganic explosives have been found," Zheng Xi, head of the Guangxi Fire and Rescue Brigade, said at a news conference in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

16:56 2022-03-26
Watch it again: News conference on rescue work after plane crash

Chinese officials are holding a news conference Saturday afternoon to provide more details about the Boeing 737 jetliner crash in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Currently, the search teams are still making the best efforts to search for survivors and recover the second black box of the crashed China Eastern Airline's flight MU5735.

10:50 2022-03-26
Expert: Black boxes take time to study
One of two 'black box' recorders discovered from crashed plane in Tengxian, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on March 23, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Black boxes are usually easily found after air crashes because of their colorful exterior and signal, but it generally takes months to complete a report of their content, according to a civil aviation expert.

When black boxes are recovered in fairly good condition, investigators can analyze and produce a report on their content in about three months, but it can take much longer when they are damaged, said Li Xiaojin, a professor from the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin.

07:37 2022-03-26
Core site of plane crash to be excavated
Workers remove wreckage at a plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 25, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

NANNING - The core site of the recent plane crash in south China will be excavated as all-out efforts are made to continue searching for survivors and the second black box, officials said at a news briefing on Friday.

Field exploration and shallow surface excavation have been carried out at the core crash site in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said Zhu Tao, head of the aviation safety office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

07:36 2022-03-26
Teams ID crash remains, still hope for survivors
Search and rescue work continues at the crash site of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 in Tengxian county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on March 25, 2022. [Photo by Lu Boan and Zhou Hua/Xinhua]

Experts from public security departments have begun examining the DNA of human remains at the site where a China Eastern Airlines jet crashed on Monday in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, a local police chief said on Friday.

More than 236 experts were engaged in the painstaking work of collecting biometric information at the site, examining DNA and identifying victims, said Lao Gaojin, head of the wuzhou public security bureau, at a news conference in Wuzhou on Friday afternoon.

19:31 2022-03-25
Airlines assigns care and support teams for victims' families

China Eastern Airlines has assigned special teams for each family of the lost passengers onboard the crashed plane for one-on-one care and support, an official of the company said.

Liu Xiaodong, head of the company's publicity department, said at a news conference on Friday that the company has assigned for each family a team of three workers: one from or near the passenger's family's place of residence, one for long-term support and one for financial settlement.

More than 300 staff workers have been assigned to the work, with about 160 in Wuzhou, the crash site in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

17:41 2022-03-25
Fact check on viral posts about plane crash
Rescuers conduct search and rescue work at a plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 24, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crashed in a mountainous area in Wuzhou city of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region with 132 passengers and crew onboard on Monday afternoon.

As the search and rescue efforts continue, there has also been many false information or rumors spreading. Here we debunk some of the widespread misinformation.

16:27 2022-03-25
What you need to know about black boxes

Editor's note: After a China Eastern Airlines jet crashed in South China's Guangxi autonomous region, rescue teams have been trying their best to search for the black boxes, because they are important to explain to everyone what happened. So what are black boxes and how's the search work going?

Graphic by chinadaily.com.cn

What are black boxes?

12:04 2022-03-25
Authorities continue search for second black box after plane crash
Rescuers conduct search and rescue work at a plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 24, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Recovery workers have not yet found the second black box of the China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed on Monday in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, according to the rescue headquarters.

Civil Aviation Administration of China News reported on Friday morning that the flight data recorder, the second of the two black boxes installed on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft, was recovered from the crash site near the village of Molang, Tengxian county of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

09:00 2022-03-25
Wrapup: Searchers find debris, crew items, some remains in center of crash site
A recovery team searches through the debris at the China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crash site on Thursday in Tengxian county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Various items from the cockpit have been found, including crew manuals and ID cards. LU BOAN/XINHUA

The main impact point where the China Eastern Airlines jet crashed on Monday in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was identified and the search area was further enlarged amid heavy rain and landslides on Thursday.

Most of the debris from the aircraft is scattered in the core area, a 30-meter radius around the main point of impact, Zhu Tao, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's aviation safety office, said at a news conference in Wuzhou, Guangxi, on Thursday afternoon.

06:25 2022-03-25
In-depth: Rain hampers work near impact point
Workers search on Tuesday for the two black box flight recorders from the crashed plane, one of which was recovered the next day. ZHOU HUA/XINHUA

On Wednesday afternoon, two days after the crash of Flight MU5735, it was raining in Molang, a village near the scene of the disaster in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Some relatives of passengers who were on board the Boeing 737-800 burst into tears as they watched rescuers and excavators working in a mountainous area where loved ones could lie buried.

21:33 2022-03-24
Search for evidence, survivors continues amid challenging conditions

Fire and rescue teams have continued to carry out search operations at the crash site of a China Eastern Airlines jet in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, amid recent heavy rain, a China Daily reporter learned after arriving at the site on Thursday afternoon.

Heavy rain affected the search for a second straight day, with small landslides triggered on Thursday. Nevertheless, fire and rescue teams need to comb the heavily forested and steep slopes, which is very energy sapping, so different teams have to take turns to conduct the search, the China Daily reporter learned.

19:34 2022-03-24
Family members of crash victims accommodated, given assistance: Airline

A total of 305 family members of 56 passengers on China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 have been accommodated in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, after the plane crashed on Monday, said Liu Xiaodong, head of the airline's publicity department.

Liu told a news conference on Thursday afternoon family members have been housed and aided in Wuzhou, receiving assistance from 161 staff members of the airlines and local authorities.

The jet carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members left Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, at 1:11 pm on Monday, bound for Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Air traffic controllers lost track of the flight over Wuzhou.

18:42 2022-03-24
China Eastern Airlines grounds 223 Boeing 737-800 aircraft

China Eastern Airlines and its subsidiaries have temporarily grounded 223 Boeing 737-800 aircraft after one such plane with 132 people on board crashed earlier this week in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, an airline official said Thursday.

All grounded aircraft are undergoing checks and maintenance according to the highest safety standard to ensure that they meet the airworthiness requirements, Liu Xiaodong, head of the airline's publicity department, told a press briefing.

He added that the airline has launched a sweeping safety overhaul following the air crash.

18:27 2022-03-24
Airline dismisses false reports on plane maintenance

The aircraft that crashed on Monday did not require repairs in a component called the pickle fork, an executive of China Eastern Airlines said.

Liu Xiaodong, head of the company's publicity department, responded at a press conference on Thursday to rumors the Flight MU5737 crashed because the company had repaired the pickle fork, a component that connects wings to the fuselage, of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft by itself.

He said the crashed aircraft was 6.8 years old and flew a total of 8,986 flights, far from the inspection standard of 22,600.

18:16 2022-03-24
Main impact site of airliner crash found
The Guangxi Fire and Rescue Brigade works at the main crash site on March 22, 2022. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The main impact site of the crashed China Eastern Airlines passenger jet has been located and over 180 pieces of wreckage have been found, authorities said on Thursday.

Most wreckage is scattered within 30 meters of the main point and some are buried up to 20 meters underground, said Zhu Tao, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's aviation safety office, in a news conference on Thursday.

17:35 2022-03-24
Black box data downloading and analysis work underway: official

The recovered black box of the China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed Monday in south China with 132 people aboard was sent to a decoding laboratory in Beijing Wednesday night and the data downloading and analysis work is underway, an aviation official told a press briefing Thursday.

13:21 2022-03-24
Rescuers clearing rain-triggered landslide debris at plane crash site
Rescuers at a plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, March 23, 2022. [Photo by Dong Tianjian/For chinadaily.com.cn]

NANNING -- Rescuers have been braving the rain to clear landslide debris and waterlogging while continuing the search and rescue work at the site where a passenger plane with 132 people aboard crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Monday afternoon.

"We are continuing to search for survivors at our best. Our search area has been expanded nearly fivefold and we are searching the site thoroughly," said Huang Shangwu, a rescuer with the regional fire and rescue corps.

12:27 2022-03-24
Ministry vows to curb safety hazards after plane crash
Passengers board the maiden flight at the Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, Aug 12, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Ministry of Emergency Management said on Thursday that it will take immediate action to eliminate safety hazards in the civil aviation sector as rescue efforts continue following a recent plane crash.

On Monday afternoon, China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The aircraft was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

09:00 2022-03-24
Rescuers search for the second black box
Rescuers search for the second black box with flight data at a plane crash site in Tengxian county, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on the night of March 23, 2022. [Photo by Dong Tianjian/For chinadaily.com.cn]

 

 

07:18 2022-03-24
Crashed aircraft's black box found
A screen grab from China Central Television shows a black box from the China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed on Monday in Tengxian, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Item believed to be cockpit voice recorder; search continues for one with flight data

One black box of the China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed on Monday in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was found on Wednesday. In addition, human tissue was found at the crash site.

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