US officials report that Chinese 737-800 crash caused by intentional act
The China Eastern Airlines plane crash that killed 132 people is believed to have been caused by an intentional act, according to U.S. officials who spoke to ABC News.
The Boeing 737-800 passenger jet was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21 when it plunged into a mountainous area in Guangxi, China. All 123 passengers and nine crew members were killed.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news.
The officials who spoke to ABC News point to the plane’s flaps not being engaged and landing gear not put down. The near-vertical descent of the plane, they believe, would’ve required intentional force.
The plane slammed into the ground with such force that it created a 66-foot deep hole in the ground, according to Chinese officials.
Investigators also looked into one of the pilots’ personal lives and background and believe he may have been struggling through certain issues right before the crash, ABC News has learned.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said all information on the investigation will come from their counterparts in the Civil Aviation Administration of China, but regulators and Boeing have not flagged any mechanical issues. Sources said Chinese investigators also haven’t flagged any mechanical issues.
“The NTSB will not be issuing any further updates on the CAAC’s investigation of the China Eastern 5735 crash,” the NTSB said in a statement. “When and whether CAAC issues updates is entirely up to them. And I haven’t heard anything about any plans for them to do so.”
The first black box, the cockpit voice recorder, was found on March 23, while the flight data recorder was found on March 27.
Early data showed the airliner plunged from 29,000 feet to 8,000 feet, leveled off and then went into a freefall. One video showed the plane nose-diving into the ground.
US investigators confirm with CAAC they did not release China Eastern MU5735 crash probe info to media
The US’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed with China’s civil aviation regulator that it did not release any investigation information about the cause of the crash of China Eastern MU5735. NTSB’s response comes after some American media reported the tragic crash was deliberately caused by someone.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said that NTSB made it clear that they did not release relevant investigation information to any media, and that they are cooperating with the CAAC in strict accordance with the framework requirements of Annex 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. NTSB also said it will continue to provide professional technical support to help identify the cause of the accident, according to a release the CAAC sent exclusively to the Global Times on Wednesday morning.
The comment was made after the WSJ reported earlier that flight data indicates someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the China Eastern jet, citing people familiar with US officials’ preliminary assessment of what led to the accident.
According to the CAAC, at present, the aircraft flight accident investigation department is carrying out in-depth wreck identification, classification and inspection, flight data analysis, experimental verification and other related work according to the investigation procedures.
CAAC said the investigation department invited the NTSB from the US as the investigator from the country where the aircraft was designed and manufactured, and the move was made according to the relevant requirements of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
CAAC said it will continue to maintain close communication with all parties involved in the investigation, carry out the accident investigation in a scientific, rigorous and orderly manner, and disclose the progress of investigation timely and accurately in accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the relevant requirements of government information disclosure.
The NTSB said in a reply sent to the Global Times on Wednesday that it has assisted the CAAC with their investigation of the China Eastern MU5735 crash. The NTSB doesn’t comment on investigations led by other authorities. All information related to that investigation will be released by the CAAC. Globaltimes.cn, ABC News & yahoo.com