Newly published documents from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) raise suspicions that the crash of a plane operated by the Chinese airline China Eastern in March 2022 could have been caused intentionally.
A technical report from the agency said the fuel switches on both engines of the Boeing 737-800 changed from “run” to “cut off” at about 29,000 feet. After that, the engine speeds dropped.
The document does not give a definitive cause of the crash. The documents were released under the US Freedom of Information Act. The actual investigation is being carried out by the Chinese aviation authority CAAC, which has not yet submitted a final report.
First indications shortly after the crash
The US broadcaster CNN evaluated the data to suggest that someone in the cockpit could have intentionally switched off the fuel supply. “This data clearly shows that the fuel switches were manually turned off immediately before the crash,” said CNN aviation analyst David Soucie.
Aviation expert Tony Stanton from the Australian consultancy Strategic Air urged caution on CNN. “The material released does not, by itself, prove motive, intent or who moved the switches,” Stanton said. However, the sequence is difficult to explain with a normal mechanical failure of both engines and is more consistent with a human-triggered interruption of the fuel supply.
As early as May 2022, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the investigation, reported that data indicated a deliberately triggered crash sequence.
Memories of the Germanwings crash
The aircraft, flight number MU5735, was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou on March 21, 2022, when it lost contact with air traffic control near Wuzhou in southern China and crashed in mountainous terrain. There were 123 passengers and nine crew members on board. Nobody survived. The CAAC had previously rejected speculation that the crash was intentionally caused.
The case brings back memories of the Germanwings crash in 2015. At that time, a co-pilot intentionally steered the plane into a mountain in the French Alps. However, in the case of China Eastern, there is still no official final report confirming such a conclusion.
In US trading on the NYSE, the paper was temporarily 1.44 percent stronger at $224.50.
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BEIJING/WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX)
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