Update: One of Two Flight Recorders Located From China Eastern Plane Crash

The cockpit voice recorder from the China Eastern Airlines Corp. aircraft that crashed on Monday has been found and sent for analysis. Officials said all three pilots had current licenses, valid health certificates and solid experience.

The two so-called black boxes — one yet to be located — are key to discovering why the Boeing Co. 737-800 NG jet plunged out of the sky at close to the speed of sound before slamming into a hillside in Guangxi, southern China. The pilots didn’t respond to calls from air-traffic controllers after the plane tipped into its nosedive, authorities said. All 123 passengers and nine crew are presumed dead.

(Editor’s note: This Bloomberg article was first published on March 22, 2022 at 7:53 p.m. in Hong Kong. It was updated on March 23, 2022, at 10:17 a.m. and then again at 1:48 p.m.)

State television reported that rescue work had been halted at the crash site Wednesday due to bad weather, broadcasting footage that showed debris and aircraft parts scattered in muddy terrain. While officials have said it is too early to say what caused the crash, China Eastern has grounded its Boeing 737-800 fleet and thousands of flights have been canceled. Regulators have ordered a safety review encompassing much of the country’s aviation industry.

Key Developments:

• Cockpit voice recorder found and sent for analysis
• Pilots didn’t answer calls
• Jet plunged at almost the speed of sound, data shows
• Airline says pilots, plane were fit before flight
• Chinese regulator orders sweeping air-safety review

Voice Recorder Sent for Analysis (9:20 p.m. HK)

The single black box recovered on Wednesday contained cockpit voice recordings that will help investigators determine the cause of Monday’s crash, Chinese officials said at an evening press briefing.

The device was sent overnight to a civil aviation institute in Beijing, said Zhu Tao, an official with China’s Civil Aviation Administration. The exterior was “severely damaged” and analysis will take time because there is also some damage to its internal memory unit, he said, adding that the amount of time will depend on its condition.

Some 330 workers are involved in the search and recovery operation at the crash site, which covers some 46,000 square meters, or more than six soccer pitches. Some body parts have been recovered, Zhu said without elaborating.

Investigators continue to look for the second so-called black box, a flight data recorder which will provide comprehensive information about hundreds of flight parameters, from speed and altitude to flap positioning and heading, as they work to recreate the entire incident.

Hard Evidence (7:24 p.m. HK)

Black boxes from the wreckage will give safety investigators their most conclusive evidence on what caused the jetliner to slam into a hillside two days ago. Search teams retrieved one from the mangled parts on Wednesday.

The devices, typically referred to as black boxes even though they’re painted a distinctive orange to make them easier to see, can store audio recordings from the cockpit and data on hundreds of flight parameters — from speed and altitude to flap positioning and heading, that help investigators recreate the final fateful moments before a crash.

Authorities didn’t say which of the two black boxes were found.

China Eastern Safety Review (5:58 p.m. HK)

China Eastern said it is carrying out a comprehensive investigation into the crash, and grounding its Boeing 737-800 fleet doesn’t necessarily mean there are any safety issues with the aircraft. “Everything is subject to the investigation,” it said.

The carrier also said it has sufficient capacity and that flights won’t be affected by the grounding.

Weather Was Good at Time (5:40 p.m. HK)

At the time of the accident, there wasn’t any adverse weather. According to ground-to-air call records between the crew and air-traffic control, the aircraft maintained normal communication links from take-off in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, until the sudden drop in altitude, Civil Aviation Administration of China official Mao Yanfeng said.

Jet Was Up-to-Date With Maintenance (5:36 p.m. HK)

Sun Shiying, the head of China Eastern’s Yunnan subsidiary, said the plane was brought into the fleet in June 2015. Its maintenance followed a strict plan and its technical condition was normal and stable. Before take off on Monday, the aircraft met all maintenance release standards and airworthiness requirements.

Hours of Flying Experience (5:33 p.m. HK)

The captain had 6,709 hours in the 737 model, while the first co-pilot had a total of 31,769 flying hours, officials said at a briefing. The second co-pilot had 556 hours of flying hours experience. They all had good performance records, according to Sun.

One Black Box Found (5:13 p.m. HK)

One of the flight recorders has been found, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing officials at a briefing. They said it was badly damaged, but didn’t say which one it was — the cockpit voice recorder or the one that captures flight data.

Social Media Platforms Close Accounts (4:06 p.m. HK)

Chinese social media platforms including Weibo shut down some accounts after users shared false information about the crash, according to a statement from the Cyberspace Administration of China.

Families Visit Crash Site (3:45 p.m. HK)

Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily reported that some relatives of passengers visited the crash site to pay their respects, while sheltering under umbrellas in the rain.

Search Suspended Due to Rain (11:02 a.m. HK)

Search and rescue efforts at the crash site were halted Wednesday due to rain, Chinese state media reported, with footage on news channel CCTV showing a drenched, muddy road and idled bulldozers. The TV reporter said there is still the smell of fuel in the area.

The rain means small landslides are possible and drainage work is required, according to the report. The aircraft’s black boxes — the data and voice recorders that are designed to withstand most crashes — still haven’t been found, CCTV said.

NTSB Names Liaison Investigator (7:21 a.m. HK)

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board named Sathya Silva as its representative for the investigation into the China Eastern crash.

The NTSB said it is in contact with the Civil Aviation Administration of China and will support its probe with technical advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and engine-maker CFM “in all ways necessary.”

According to LinkedIn, Silva is an ex-Boeing safety engineer, a former flight controller at the United Space Alliance, and used to be a researcher for NASA. She has worked at the NTSB for almost six years.

Jet Dived Near Speed of Sound (5:50 a.m. HK)

The jet was traveling at close to the speed of sound in the moments before it slammed into a hillside, according to a Bloomberg News review of flight-track data.

Such an impact may complicate the task for investigators because it can obliterate evidence and, in rare cases, damage a plane’s data and voice recorders that are designed to withstand most crashes. The Boeing 737-800 was knifing through the air at more than 640 miles (966 kilometers) per hour, and at times may have exceeded 700 mph, according to data from Flightradar24, a website that tracks planes.

Wallets, IDs and other items were found on a mountainside in Guangxi where 132 lives were presumed lost after a China Eastern Airlines plane crash.
The Boeing 737-800 was traveling at close to the speed of sound before slamming into a hillside https://t.co/lwP2jfe4ze #MU5735 pic.twitter.com/2AHMuyGiWJ

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 23, 2022

No Response (9:54 p.m. HK)

Air-traffic controllers tried multiple times to reach the pilots after Flight MU5735 tipped into a deadly dive, but received no response to their calls, an official with China’s Civil Aviation Administration said at a press briefing.

The plane disappeared from radar screens at 2:23 p.m. local time, three minutes after it started a steep descent, the official, Zhu Tao, said at the end of the first full day of searching through the wreckage.

Plane, Pilots Fit (9:54 p.m. HK)

The Boeing jet met airworthiness standards before taking off, and technical conditions were stable, China Eastern official Sun Shiying said at a briefing, according to the South China Morning Post. The nine crew members were experienced and in good health, he said, according to the newspaper.

Rough Terrain (9:54 p.m. HK)

Video footage showed dozens of rescue workers, some in military uniforms, using shovels to dig through a hillside littered with debris. They found wallets and bank cards belonging to some passengers, China state television reported.

Air-Safety Review (8:48 p.m. HK)

China’s aviation regulator ordered a two-week safety review encompassing air-traffic control bureaus, airlines, airports and flight-training organizations.

China Eastern is also beefing up cockpit crew requirements on at least some aircraft types. Two senior captains, with an instructor in the lead, and one senior co-pilot are now required, The Paper reported. Alternatively, two flight instructors, one being the captain, can work with a senior co-pilot, the Chinese news outlet said, citing people who worked at China Eastern.

–With assistance from Li Liu, Angus Whitley, Jessica Sui, Claire Che, Danny Lee and Benedikt Kammel.

Photograph: In this photo taken by mobile phone released by Xinhua News Agency, a piece of wreckage of the China Eastern’s flight MU5735 is shown after it crashed on the mountain in Tengxian County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, March 21, 2022. The Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in a remote mountainous area of southern China on Monday, officials said, setting off a forest fire visible from space in the country’s worst air disaster in nearly a decade. Photo credit: Xinhua via AP.

Topics Aviation China