Multiple international media outlets citing new investigation reports have revealed that the March 2022 crash of China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 was caused by someone deliberately cutting off the fuel supply in the cockpit. The Boeing 737-800 plunged from approximately 29,000 feet into a mountainous area in Guangxi, killing all 132 people on board.

This marks the first time specific details about the human actions leading to the crash have been publicly reported, more than four years after the incident.

Flight Data Evidence

According to reports from BBC and CNN, flight data recorder information obtained by US investigation agencies further supports the deliberate action theory. The data shows the aircraft experienced an abnormal fuel supply interruption before entering a near-vertical dive, a flight pattern inconsistent with natural mechanical failure.

The South China Morning Post reported in detail that investigators found operation records from the cockpit indicating the fuel valve was manually closed rather than failing due to a system malfunction. This finding shifts the nature of the incident from an accidental technical failure to an intentional act.

Transparency Concerns

The Times published a report directly alleging a cover-up by Chinese authorities during the investigation process. Following the crash, the Civil Aviation Administration of China released a preliminary investigation report, but detailed technical data and flight recorder information have not been fully disclosed to the international community.

Insurance Business magazine also covered this controversy, noting that international aviation safety investigation conventions require full sharing of critical data, and the level of information disclosure in this case has drawn industry attention.

Background

On March 21, 2022, a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 traveling from Kunming to Guangzhou crashed in the mountainous area of Teng County, Wuzhou City, Guangxi. All 123 passengers and 9 crew members perished in what remains China’s deadliest aviation accident since the 2010 Yichun crash.

The Boeing 737-800 is one of the world’s most widely used narrow-body aircraft. If the crash is ultimately confirmed to be the result of human action rather than a design defect, the implications for Boeing would differ significantly from those of a mechanical failure scenario.

Ongoing Impact

The publication of these investigation findings is expected to renew attention from victims’ families regarding accountability. International aviation safety organizations are likely to call for enhanced cockpit security protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Sources: BBC, CNN, South China Morning Post, The Times

Chinese aviation authorities released the final investigation report into the 2022 China Eastern MU5735 crash on Tuesday. The report confirmed that a fuel cut-off was the direct cause of the Boeing 737 crash into a mountainside in Guangxi province, which killed all 132 people on board.

Investigation Findings

The report states that the aircraft suddenly entered a dive during its cruising phase, ultimately striking the ground at high speed. Investigators, analyzing black box data, found that the aircraft’s fuel supply was cut off shortly before the accident, causing the engines to lose power.

The report provides a detailed timeline: the aircraft was cruising at approximately 8,900 meters (29,000 feet) when the fuel system experienced an anomaly, after which the plane descended rapidly, crashing within about two minutes. The investigation ruled out severe weather and external factors beyond the mechanical failure.

Victims and Families

Flight MU5735 was a domestic service from Kunming to Guangzhou. There were 123 passengers and 9 crew members on board, including an infant. Following the crash, China launched a large-scale search and rescue operation. However, the complex terrain and the high-speed impact at the time of the crash resulted in widely scattered wreckage, making the investigation extremely challenging.

Aviation Safety Implications

The accident was China’s deadliest civil aviation disaster since the 2010 Yichun air crash. The safety of the Boeing 737 model has once again come under scrutiny, although the report did not identify a systemic design flaw with the aircraft type. International aviation safety organizations said they would closely monitor the implications of the investigation report.

Source: BBC News