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Black Box Data From China Eastern Jet Points to Intentional Nosedive


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“Flight data indicates someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed a China Eastern jet earlier this year, according to people familiar with U.S. officials’ preliminary assessment of what led to the accident,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

BREAKING: China Eastern Boeing 737-800 Plane Reportedly Crashes Into the Mountains; 132 Feared Dead

The Boeing 737-800 was cruising at high altitude when it suddenly plummeted into a nosedive and crashed into the mountains at high speed.

Data from a black box recovered in the crash suggests inputs to the controls pushed the plane into the fatal dive.

“The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit,” said a person who is familiar with American officials’ preliminary assessment, which includes an analysis of information extracted from the plane’s damaged flight-data recorder.

BBC aired this video report:

From the WSJ:

Also underpinning the American officials’ assessment, this person said: Chinese authorities, who are leading the investigation, so far haven’t flagged any mechanical or flight-control problems with the plane involved in the March 21 crash in southern China. That model is a workhorse of the global aviation industry and is part of a family of Boeing aircraft that have one of the best safety records in commercial flying.

The information gathered so far in the China Eastern probe has led U.S. officials involved with the investigation to turn their attention to the actions of a pilot, people familiar with the matter said. There is also a possibility that someone else on the plane could have broken into the cockpit and deliberately caused the crash, these people said.

Neither Boeing Co. nor air-safety regulators have been working on any service bulletins or safety directives stemming from the crash, people familiar with the matter said. Such messages would be used if authorities believed there was a need to alert airlines and pilots to problems the flight crew encountered in the accident or detail needed fixes to the aircraft.

Accident investigations can turn up previously unknown evidence that can bolster or undermine preliminary assessments. One person familiar with the U.S. officials’ preliminary assessment said the Americans don’t have all information available to their Chinese counterparts.

Zero Hedge added:

Now the investigation has shifted to the pilots, the person said, adding that someone else on the plane could've broken into the cockpit and deliberately crashed it.

Accident investigations can take a while to conclude the crash's causes and contributing factors, but China Eastern has begun returning 737-800s to the skies after grounding its entire fleet for about a month after the crash.



 

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