Report: Data Suggests Intentional Nosedive in China Eastern Plane Crash

Flight data reportedly indicates that someone in the cockpit of a China Eastern Airlines flight intentionally crashed the Boeing 737-800 on March 21, killing all 132 people on board, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Thom Patterson

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 05:10 PM ET

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

Key Takeaways:

Recovered flight data from China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 reportedly indicates that someone on the flight deck intentionally crashed the Boeing 737-800, killing all 132 people aboard.
This preliminary assessment, reported by *The Wall Street Journal* citing U.S. officials, is based on information from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders suggesting control inputs forced the aircraft into a near-vertical dive.
Previous investigations had found no issues with the aircraft's maintenance, the weather conditions at the time, or the flight crew's training, ruling out other potential causes.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is leading the investigation, assisted by the NTSB and aircraft manufacturers, with both "black boxes" currently being analyzed in Washington, D.C.

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Recovered flight data reportedly indicates that someone on the flight deck of a China Eastern Airlines flight intentionally crashed the Boeing 737-800 last March 21, killing all 132 people on board, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The journal report cites “people familiar with U.S. officials’ preliminary assessment of what led to the accident.”

During the 90-minute flight from Kunming to Guangzhou, China, the airliner went into a near vertical dive over a rural area, impacting a mountain so hard that it fragmented, leaving a crater 60 feet deep.