The accident involving the Boeing 737-800 killed 123 passengers and nine crew members. [File Photo: Shutterstock]
Key Takeaways:
Investigators are considering an inflight breakup for the China Eastern jet crash, as a piece of wreckage was found approximately six miles from the main impact point.
The aircraft plunged in a near-vertical attitude with no distress calls, and recovery efforts at the rural, mountainous crash site are being hampered by rain.
One of the aircraft's two black boxes has been recovered and sent for analysis, crucial for determining why the jet abruptly left its cruising altitude.
China Eastern Airlines has grounded all 223 of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft as a precautionary measure following the accident.
A piece of wreckage believed to have come from the China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed on Monday has been found miles from the main impact point.
Based on its discovery, investigators are considering the possibility that the Boeing 737-800 experienced an inflight breakup before the plunge that killed 132 people.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
