Chinese plane crash possibly deliberate act, reveal US investigators
What's the story
Newly released flight data suggests that the crash of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 in March 2022 was possibly a deliberate act. The Boeing 737-800 jet, which was on its way from Kunming to Guangzhou, plunged 29,000 feet and crashed into a mountain in southern China. All 132 people on board were killed. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has now revealed that fuel switches to both engines were turned off before the crash.
Report details
Data showed both engine fuel switches were turned off
The information was obtained from the flight data recorder, one of the two "black boxes" recovered from the wreckage. The data showed that while cruising at 29,000 feet, both engine fuel switches were moved from the run position to cutoff. This resulted in a decrease in engine speeds after the switch movement. David Soucie, a CNN aviation safety analyst, said this data "clearly shows that the fuel switches were manually placed in the off position just prior to the crash."
Recorder findings
Cockpit voice recorder retrieved but not copied
The cockpit voice recorder, described as a plane's other "black box," continued recording through a battery backup. US investigators retrieved four voice recordings from this damaged cockpit recorder and sent them to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). However, the NTSB did not keep copies of these audio files. The CAAC has previously denied that the crash was intentional.
Ongoing investigation
Speculation on possible motives behind crash
The Wall Street Journal had reported in May 2022 that human input sent the plane into its deadly dive. American officials were then looking at a pilot's actions as possible causes. Tony Stanton, an aviation expert from Strategic Air, cautioned against treating NTSB documents as final accident reports but said that the sequence of events is "very difficult to reconcile with a conventional dual-engine mechanical failure and is much more consistent with (human) commanded fuel shutoff."
Investigation criticism
China has not released final report into crash
China has not updated its investigation since 2024, when it released a statement reiterating earlier findings that no problems were found with the aircraft, crew, or weather conditions. The CAAC said there were no faults in systems or structures before take-off and no abnormalities in radio communications or dangerous weather conditions. Despite these reassurances, China has faced public criticism for not releasing a final report into this fatal crash.