China Eastern Airlines plane crash may have been intentional

Data taken from the black box of the ill-fated China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed earlier this year, suggest that the accident may have been intentional.

A report out today Wednesday, May 18 by The Wall Street Journal and ABC News, suggests that someone in the cockpit had input controls that sent the plane into a near-vertical descent.

Citing people familiar with US officials’ preliminary assessment of the disaster, an unnamed source Said: “The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit,” resulting in the death of 132 passengers and crew.

Although the investigation is being undertaken by Chinese authorities, the US is involved, with the plane having been manufactured in the US by Boeing.

The investigation is now focused on the actions of one of the pilots, according to the reports. Investigators, however, haven’t ruled out the possibility that someone else on the plane gained access to the cockpit and intentionally caused the plane to crash to the ground.

ABC News reported that investigators believe one of the pilots may have been struggling through what the outlet said were “certain issues” right before the crash.

ABC News did not specify what those issues might have been.

According to US officials who spoke to ABC News, the plane’s nosedive would have required intervention forcing the plane into a nosedive, with modern airlines equipped to stop such situations.

Investigators also report that neither the plane’s flaps nor landing gear were engaged, with neither Boeing nor the investigators flagging any mechanical issues. The plane concerned, a Boeing 737, is said to be one of the safest planes in use.

The China Eastern Airlines flight was en-route from Kunming to Guangzhou and was cruising at a steady altitude and speed before its rapid descent. Video recorded by witnesses showed the plane drop vertically into the ground with minutes from its cruising altitude of 8,800 metres.

Technology used in modern planes, and this China Eastern Airlines plane was the latest version, are built to prevent such crashes, leading investigators to believe right from the outset that this crash may have been intentional.

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