According to China Central Television (CCTV), the plane that crashed was a Boeing 737, flight MU5735 of China Eastern Airlines. On the afternoon of March 21, it crashed in a rural area near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and caused a fierce fire.
There were 132 people on board confirmed, including 123 passengers and 9 crew members. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sent a task force to the scene. One video on social media showed smoke rising from a mountainous area, where the plane was suspected to have crashed, and another showed a piece of debris believed to be from the ill-fated plane.
Of the 123 passengers and 9 crew members, one was lucky to be alive due to “late arrival and missed flight”. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) also confirmed the number of passengers.
China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 flight MU5735 flying from Kunming (Yunnan province, China) to Guangzhou (Guangdong province) with 132 people on board crashed at around 3 pm in Teng County, Wuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Fire from the plane crash can be seen on the mountainside.
Theoretically, if the plane is flying at an altitude of 8,000-10,000m, but one of the two engines is suddenly damaged, or both engines are damaged at the same time, it will still be able to fly in the air for a few more tens of kilometers. The fact that the plane fell vertically is really difficult to explain.
The twin-engine Boeing 737 is one of the world’s most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights. Later, the ill-fated plane was determined Boeing 737-800 version. China Eastern Airlines is one of the three major airlines in China. The airline operates multiple versions of the Boeing 737, including the 737-800 and 737 Max.
The 737 Max version has been discontinued worldwide after two fatal crashes. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) allowed the aircraft to return to service late last year, making China is the final market using this version.
China’s aviation safety is one of the best in the world over the past decade, according to Channel NewsAsia.
The last fatal plane crash in China was in 2010 when 44 of 96 people were killed when a Henan Airlines‘ Embraer E-190 plane crashed on approach to Yichun Airport (Jiangxi province) in low visibility conditions.
In 1992, a commercial Boeing-737-800 of China Southern Airlines flying from Guangzhou (Guangdong province) to Guilin (Guangxi) crashed on landing, killing all 141 people on board.
China Eastern Airlines’ website turns black and white, as a tribute to the victims.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all efforts to find survivors.
Boeing 737 crashes in China with 132 on board: state media https://t.co/gt5IgvUR1y pic.twitter.com/kcpW6tnJSq
— New York Post (@nypost) March 21, 2022
