pilots in the crash carrying 132 people meet Chinese standards to fly commercial aircraft. No problems were reported with the plane before takeoff. No dangerous goods were carried on this flight. Communications with the plane remained normal until the plane crashed.
China Eastern's preliminary report on the Boeing 737-800 crash was released by China's aviation safety authority on April 20. However, the report cannot explain much of the mystery of why the plane suddenly took a nose job while the clear weather and crashed into the mountains, killing all 132 people on board, the New York Times pointed out.
The investigation shows that the flight and crew on the plane, as well as the maintenance and clearance staff, meet the requirements for professional qualifications. Before the plane deviated from the altitude of the journey, there were no abnormalities in communication between the crew and air traffic control or in control orders," the report said.
The report from the Chinese airline agency also said that collecting more evidence from the two black boxes of the crashed plane may take more time. The report noted that the two black boxes were severely damaged in the accident. Data recovery and analysis from these black boxes are continuing.
China signed the International Civil Aviation Convention, so the Chinese aviation authority is obliged to provide a preliminary report on April 20, 30 days after the accident. The report submitted by the Civil Aviation Authority of China did not provide any hypothesis to explain the Boeing 737-800 suddenly falling almost upright while flying at an altitude of more than 8,800m.
Commercial aircraft are designed to naturally stabilize from in front to out after taking flight. aviation experts point out that the plane would hardly make a direct landing at very high speeds unless there was a strong electrical force on the stable bars on both rear sides.
Mechanical errors or software errors can cause the stabilizer to operate incorrectly or the pilot can deliberately impact the aircraft almost directly. The report did not mention these possibilities but noted that important components of the rear of the plane were found in the crater caused by the plane leaving on the hillside. The plane's engine was also found in the collision hole.
Earlier this month, Wu Shijie, a safety official with the Civil Aviation Authority of China, warned as many theories about the catastrophic air accident have gone viral online in China. Some theories suggest that the pilot committed suicide was the cause of the accident. China's aviation authorities have stepped up health and fitness checks on commercial pilots in recent days.
But Mr Wu noted that this measure for pilots should not be considered a sign that the cause of the accident has been determined. We have not yet reached a conclusion on the cause and nature of the accident, he stressed.
China has complied with international standards on air accident investigation. The country has sent both black boxes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Committee in Washington, USA for analysis.
The US Air Force has also sent a team of experts to the crash site in southern China to help investigate. China allows groups of experts to enter the country without traditional 3-week quarantine. American experts follow the traveling bulb that was applied at this years Beijing Olympics.
