Boeing 737 passenger jet carrying 133 crashes in rural China
Horrifying moment Boeing 737 passenger jet carrying 132 people plummets 30,000ft to the ground before bursting into flames in remote Chinese mountains
China Eastern plane smashed into countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region, and ’caused a mountain fire’Rescuers were reportedly dispatched but there was no immediate confirmation of numbers dead and injuredShocking CCTV footage emerged on social media showing the jet racing vertically towards the ground todayPresident Xi Jinping said he was ‘shocked’ over the incident and immediately ordered a probe into the causeThe plane, flight number MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou, is believed to be a Boeing 737-89P, not a MAX
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A Boeing 737 carrying 132 people has plummeted 30,000ft to the ground before bursting into flames in remote Chinese mountains.
The China Eastern Airlines flight nosedived before smashing into the hillside and erupting in a huge fireball near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county in the southern province of Guangxi.
A rescue official reportedly said the plane had completely disintegrated while a fire sparked by the crash burned down bamboo and trees before being put out.
Horrifying CCTV footage emerged on social media supposedly showing the jet racing vertically towards the ground in the moments before the smash.
President Xi Jinping said he was ‘shocked’ over the incident and immediately ordered an investigation into the cause.
The plane, flight number MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou, is believed to be a Boeing 737-89P, which is not part of the MAX series that has been dogged by problems in recent years.
Shocking CCTV footage emerged on social media supposedly showing the jet racing vertically towards the ground in the moments before the smash
The China Eastern plane smashed into countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region, and ’caused a mountain fire’, state broadcaster CCTV said. Pictured: Footage of the crash posted on social media
China’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said the aircraft lost contact over the city of Wuzhou.
It had 123 passengers and nine crew on board. State media said earlier there were 133 people on board.
The CAAC said in a statement: ‘The CAAC has activated the emergency mechanism and sent a working group to the scene.’
The Aviation Safety Network tweeted: ‘We are following multiple unconfirmed reports about a possible accident involving China Eastern Airlines flight #MU5735 a Boeing 737-89P (B-1791) en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, China.’
President Xi said: ‘We are shocked to learn of the China Eastern MU5735 accident.
He also called for ‘all efforts’ towards the rescue and to find out the ’cause of the accident as soon as possible’.
One villager told a local news site the plane involved in the crash had ‘completely fallen apart’ and he had seen forest destroyed by the fire caused by the crash.
A local official added: ‘The exact location of the accident was Langnan township in Teng county.’
The flight departed the southwestern city of Kunming at 1.11pm (5.11pm GMT), FlightRadar24 data showed.
But tracking ended at 2.22pm (6.22am GMT) at an altitude of 3,225 feet with a speed of 376 knots.
The plane had been cruising at an altitude 29,100 feet at 6.20am GMT, according to FlightRadar24 data.
Just over two minutes and 15 seconds later, the next available data showed it had descended to 9,075 feet. In another 20 seconds, its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet.
It had been due to land in Guangzhou, on the east coast, at 3.05pm (7.05am GMT).
Shares of Boeing Co were down 6.4 per cent at $180.44 in premarket trade.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The website of China Eastern Airlines was later presented in black and white, which airlines do in response to a crash as a sign of respect for the assumed victims.
Arthur Rowe, specialist fellow in gas turbine performance and operability centre for propulsion engineering at Cranfield University, told MailOnline: ‘It looks most likely a loss of control event, possibly following a high altitude stall of the aircraft.
‘As usual there are multiple possible causes. Jammed or unresponsive control surfaces, especially on the tail are one.
‘An inappropriate combination of autopilot settings is another – I’m not familiar with the details of this aircraft’s flight controls though.
‘Sabotage, although that’s probably unlikely on a domestic Chinese flight given the Covid restrictions on entering the country.
‘It’s unlikely to be engine related as aircraft can fly perfectly well with no engine power – for a limited time obviously.’
The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plummeted rapidly then appeared to have smashed into the hillside near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county
A Chinese airliner with 133 people on board has crashed in the southern province of Guangxi, erupting in a horror fire across a mountain
Parts of the plane were strewn across the countryside following the crash and fireball on Monday afternoon in China
The plane (file photo of it is pictured) stopped transmitting data just southwest of the Chinese city of Wuzhou, according to data from Flight Radar. Chicago-based Boeing Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment
The China Eastern plane smashed into countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region and ’caused a mountain fire’, state broadcaster CCTV said
Aviation data provider OAG said this month state-owned China Eastern Airlines was the world’s sixth-largest by scheduled weekly seat capacity and the biggest in China.
It has had a relatively strong performance in the domestic market during the coronavirus pandemic despite tight curbs on international flights, OAG said.
It is one of China’s top three airlines, operating scores of domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.
The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern from Boeing in June 2015 and had been flying for over six years.
The twin-engine, single aisle Boeing 737 is one of the world’s most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights.
China Eastern operates multiple versions of the common aircraft, including the 737-800 and the 737 Max. The 737 Max version was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes.
China’s aviation regulator cleared that plane to return to service late last year, making the country the last major market to do so.
The safety record of its airline industry has been among the best in the world in the past decade.
According to Aviation Safety Network, China’s last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility.
The 737-800 model that crashed today has a good safety record and is the predecessor to the 737 MAX model that has been grounded in China for more than three years following fatal crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.
Boeing was forced to stop the 737 Max after the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia happened less than six months apart.
The first disaster happened October 29, 2018, when a Max flying as Lion Air flight JT 610 fell into the Java Sea 15 minutes after taking off from Jakarta.
All 189 aboard the plane died, including 180 Indonesians, one Italian and one Indian. The second was on March 10, 2019, when Ethiopian Airlines slight ET 302 took off from the Ethiopian capital and crashed.
All 157 people onboard the plane died. The plane was grounded around the world and thousands of holidaymakers and travellers missed their flights.
Boeing reported on July 14, 2019, that customers cancelled orders for 60 of the grounded 737 MAX jets in June. The aircraft maker removed another 123 planes from its backlog over doubts that the deals will be completed.
In 1992, a China Southern 737-300 jet flying from Guangzhou to Guilin crashed on descent, killing all 141 people on board, according to Aviation Safety Network.
Most of the passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, were from China.
Flight Radar shows the plane taking off but not reaching its destination in the early hours
A graphic by the aviation monitoring website shows the plane plummet part-way through its journey
The web site of China Eastern Airlines was later presented in black and white, which airlines do in response to a crash as a sign of respect for the assumed victims
CCTV said a ‘China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plane carrying 133 people has crashed in Teng county, Wuzhou, Guangxi, and caused a mountain fire. Pictured: File photo of the area
