Unusual points from the plane carrying 132 people crashed in China

Video allegedly capturing the final moments of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 has been widely shared on Chinese social media, just hours after the plane crashed into a mountainside. in southern Guangxi on March 21.

According to the South China Morning Post, while Chinese civil aviation authorities were investigating the cause of the accident, aviation safety experts studied the video and flight data and discovered some unusual point.

The video is said to capture the last moments of flight number MU5735. Source: NDTV

“The first thing that investigators have to determine is whether the plane was intact when it hit the ground, or if a part had fallen off the plane at some point before,” said Juan Browne, Boeing 777 pilot. and is an expert in analyzing aviation incidents, said. “Based on the video data, I found that the plane was intact before it crashed.”

Data collected by Flightradar24 showed that the China Eastern plane was flying at an altitude of nearly 9,000 meters at about 2:20 pm (local time) when it suddenly dropped. After briefly regaining horizontal position at an altitude of about 2,100 meters, the plane continued to plunge to the ground at a speed of nearly 600 km / h in the last few seconds.

According to Mr Browne, it is “very rare” for an aircraft to hit the ground with such an almost vertical state.

The chart shows the anomaly in the altitude of flight MU5735 at the time of the accident. Source: Flightradar24

The Sun newspaper, citing British aviation expert Sally Gethin, said that it is still too early to speculate on the cause of the accident. However, some of the possibilities are problems with the tail section of the plane, weather factors or a multitude of issues that can affect the aircraft, such as a small fire on board or a system problem. electrical wiring.

According to Gethin, the 132 people on board the plane may have faced the terrifying crash that lasted about two minutes. Due to the great pressure causing blood to rush to the brain, the pilot and passengers may have lost consciousness. However, flight data shows that during the descent, it took about 10 to 20 seconds for the pilot to regain consciousness and tried to save the plane but failed.

The expert also emphasized that so far, there has not been any evidence that there is a conspiracy behind the incident or that this is a deliberate accident. However, she believes that pilots can be stunned or disoriented in the face of unexpected situations. This is called the “startle effect” and it is very difficult to train pilots for it.

According to Ms. Genthin, even experienced pilots can “lose their guard” and that’s when they can make wrong judgments, leading to accidents. However, many accidents often happen when the plane has just taken off or is about to land, unlike the recent incident in China. Therefore, the plane crash this time became even more mysterious.

The path of flight number MU5735 before losing contact with the ground. Graphics: Flightradar24

Investigators have yet to release a “black box” – a heavily guarded device that records information such as aircraft activity, pilot and cockpit voice.

According to Chinese news site The Paper, investigators are likely to analyze video captured by a security camera operated by a local mining company. In addition, video extracted from the dashcam of a car traveling near the scene can also provide additional footage of the accident from a different angle.

Specialist Juan Browne said that, when examining the scene, investigators will especially focus on the altitude rudder, the control and adjustment device for the nose of the plane.

“There’s really only one thing that can cause a plane to descend vertically, and that’s the rudder,” Browne said, noting that if it weren’t for the problem with these components, the plane would The flight will constantly wobble when there is a problem.

Image of the fire at the place where the plane crashed on March 21. Photo: Xinhua News Agency

Flight MU5735 of China Eastern Airlines, departed from Kunming Changshui International Airport, Kunming City, Yunnan Province at 1:15 p.m. on March 21 and was scheduled to land at Guangzhou city, Guangdong province. However, the plane crashed more than an hour after takeoff.

Rescue teams were immediately deployed to the scene, but none of the 132 people on board, including 123 passengers and nine crew members, is thought to have survived. The accident is believed to be China’s worst aviation tragedy in decades.

On March 21, the US Federal Aviation Administration said it was “ready to assist with investigative efforts if requested”. Meanwhile, Boeing also announced that it is contacting the US National Transportation Safety Board and technical experts to coordinate and stand ready to support the investigation from the Chinese side.

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