Searching for clues to the cause of the crash of a Boeing 737 in southern China, the salvage crews have found more wreckage. Most of the parts, including parts of the wings and turbines, were found within a radius of around 30 meters from the main impact point of the machine, the authorities said at a press conference today. Other remains of the 132 people on board were also found.
Search for data flight recorder in progress
After the voice recorder was found in the cockpit yesterday and sent to Beijing for further investigation, the search for the data flight recorder, which could provide important information for clarifying the cause of the crash, continued today. Heavy rain and the softened soil in the mountain region, which is difficult to access, continued to make work considerably more difficult.
The China Eastern Boeing 737-800 suddenly went into a steep nosedive on Monday and a short time later crashed into a hilly forest area near the city of Wuzhou.
According to the Chinese civil aviation authority, several attempts were made to contact the machine, but the crew did not answer. The signal from the MU5735 then disappeared around three minutes after the start of the dive.
Was pilot unconscious?
The state broadcaster CGTN quoted the Chinese aviation expert Hu Xiaobing, who said that the official investigation results had to be awaited first. From his point of view, however, the course of the crash was “very unusual” because the plane fell practically vertically nose-first from the sky, as could be seen on videos.
It is possible, the expert concluded, that the pilot was unconscious during the dive. There were 123 passengers and nine crew members on board the plane.