One Month After China Eastern Airlines Tragedy, Many Questions Remain

Investigation focuses on black boxes as airline resumes 737-800 flights.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 03:11 PM ET

Verified

China Eastern Airlines has returned its fleet of 737-800 aircraft to the air. [File photo: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A month after the China Eastern Boeing 737-800 crashed in a steep nose dive, killing all 132 on board, investigators still have not determined the cause.
Initial reviews have ruled out issues with the aircraft's maintenance records, weather conditions, and the flight crew's training as contributing factors.
Both damaged "black boxes" (flight data and cockpit voice recorders) have been recovered and are undergoing analysis by the NTSB in the U.S., but it's uncertain if critical information will be retrieved due to their condition.

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It has been a month since the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 abruptly entered a nose dive and crashed, killing all 132 people on board—and investigators still don’t know why.

According to a statement released Wednesday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), there were no issues uncovered in a review of the aircraft’s maintenance records, and the weather at the time of the accident does not appear to be a factor. In previous reports, the CAAC noted the flight crew appeared to be well-trained, and there were no issues there either.