AviTrader sponsorship ad

China Eastern Airlines 737-800 crash may not have been an accident

China Eastern Airlines ©AirTeamImages

America’s Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has suggested that the black box data recorders onboard the China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 which crashed on March 21 this year killing all 132 passengers and crew on board indicates that the plane crashed as a consequence of deliberate manual input which forced the jet into a catastrophic dive.

The WSJ quotes an unnamed source as saying that “The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit.” The jet had been cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet when it began a dive which lasted approximately one minute before the plane ploughed into a mountainside near Wuzhou in Guangxi province. While Chinese investigators have been leading the enquiry into the crash, U.S. officials have been heavily involved as the plane was built in the U.S.

Comparisons have been made with events surrounding the crash of a Germanwings Airbus A320 jet in 2015 which was deliberately crashed by one of the pilots as it crossed the French alps, killing all 150 people onboard. In this instance the flight pattern shown on tracking sites together with the lack of a mayday call or loss of data signals were reminiscent of what happened in 2015. According to the WSJ Chinese authorities have not indicated to their U.S. counterparts that there was any mechanical or flight-control problems with the plane and have confirmed that the pilot and co-pilot had both been in good health, with no known financial or family issues. Chinese authorities also stated that no emergency code had been sent from the plane, implying that no intruder could have reached the cockpit. China’s air regulator has not commented beyond saying last month that investigators were continuing their inquiries.

Friday September 22, 2023
The new production line officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony
Britten-Norman, the British aircraft manufacturer, has begun the manufacture of its iconic Islander aircraft back on English soil. The company transitioned its manufacturing operations to Eastern Europe back in the 1960s. The first UK-manufactured Islander sho... Read More »
Friday September 22, 2023
First test flight of a B777-300ERSF after it underwent P2F conversion
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Marana Aerospace Solutions, doing business as Ascent Aviation Services (Ascent), have officially entered into a long-term collaboration aimed at establishing a conversion facility dedicated to transforming Boeing 777-300ER... Read More »
Friday September 22, 2023
Supernal's new facility in Freemont, California
Supernal LLC, Hyundai Motor Group’s (HMG) Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, will open its primary R&D facility in Fremont, California. This marks the third — and final — facility Supernal will open this year, following announcements of the company... Read More »
Friday September 22, 2023
Official opening of Southampton Airport's runway extension
Southampton Airport has marked the official opening of its runway extension as part of its goal to expand capacity and adapt to modern airline fleets. Local business representatives and senior political figures including MPs Paul Holmes, Carolin... Read More »
Friday September 22, 2023
KONGSBERG will supply parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme, starting in 2025
Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin worth NOK 1.2 billion to supply parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme. The agreement with Lockheed Martin covers production lots 18-19 for rud... Read More »
Friday September 22, 2023
Ryanair is trimming its winter schedule at © Dublin Airport
Ryanair is set to trim its winter schedule at Dublin Airport, axing 17 routes for the season. This decision stems from several factors, including rising passenger charges, the airport’s capital expenditure choices and the absence of a significant environ... Read More »
Friday September 22, 2023
VAS Aero Services’ new corporate brand identity
VAS Aero Services, a global leader in aviation logistics and aftermarket services, has launched its new corporate brand identity with the introduction of its new “heritage green” logo – a nod to previous VAS branding and enhanced aligned tagline, “... Read More »
Thursday September 21, 2023
Textron and NetJets have signed an agreement for up to 1,500 Citation jets
Textron Aviation and NetJets® have announced a record-breaking fleet agreement which includes the option for NetJets to purchase up to 1,500 Cessna Citation business jets over the coming 15 years. This agreement sees NetJets expand its existing fleet agreemen... Read More »
Thursday September 21, 2023
LHT has welcomed Maria Cilia and Pat Foley to its European management team
At two locations of Lufthansa Technik (LHT) subsidiaries in Europe there have been changes in management. Pat Foley has started as CEO and Managing Director of Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon, effective since August 1, and Maria Cilia took over the position ... Read More »
Thursday September 21, 2023
RTX hybrid-electric flight demonstrator
GKN Aerospace has signed an agreement with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) to collaborate on the development of the high-voltage high-power EWIS for the RTX hybrid-electric flight demonstrator project. The agreement involves the development, constructio... Read More »
Thursday September 21, 2023
AAR has signed a foreign military distribution agreement with Pall Corporation
AAR Corp. has signed an exclusive multi-year foreign military distribution agreement with Pall Corporation. This agreement grants AAR exclusive rights to distribute and market select Pall products to foreign military customers in worldwide territories, with th... Read More »
Thursday September 21, 2023
Air Nostrum’s livery was produced in-house by J&C Aero’s paint shop
J&C Aero, an end-to-end aircraft cabin interior solutions provider, has completed its 700th aircraft branding project while producing and installing livery on two Bombardier CRJ200s operated by Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum. Under the project, Air N... Read More »
Thursday September 21, 2023
Heston Materials
Heston MRO Europe, an emerging EU-based aviation components and materials supply organisation, has rebranded to Heston Materials. Following the initial establishment two years ago by Heston Aviation Group, Heston MRO Europe has since developed into a mid-size ... Read More »
Thursday September 21, 2023
Avinash Singh
GA Telesis LLC (GAT) has released that Avinash Singh has been promoted to Vice President of Sales – Asia & Middle East within the GA Telesis Engine Services Group (GATES). Singh’s successful track record, deep understanding of the industry and pass... Read More »
Wednesday September 20, 2023
Fuselage assembly will commence at Aciturri’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Spain
Lilium Air Mobility (Lilium), producer of the first-ever all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet has announced it has begun work on the assembly of the first of seven fuselages for the seven eVTOL jets that will be used to obtain Lilium Jet type... Read More »
Wednesday September 20, 2023
Mc Cauley's newest C780 propeller for the Beechcraft King Air B300 series
McCauley Propeller Systems has reported the first delivery and entry into service of its newest C780 propeller for the Beechcraft King Air B300 series, following its successful installation at Textron Aviation’s Tampa Service Centre. The new propeller, ... Read More »
Wednesday September 20, 2023
The Airspace L Bins will provide a 60% increase in cabin luggage storage space
Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), the leading centre of expertise for Airbus Aircraft Conversions (P2F), as well as lightweight components and cabin systems such as the innovative ‘Airspace L Bins,’ has announced that Lufthansa has become the inaugura... Read More »
Wednesday September 20, 2023
Guillaume Halleux has been named Chief Commercial Officer for Swissport
Guillaume Halleux joins Swissport International AG from Qatar Airways as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and member of the executive leadership team. He will execute Swissport’s commercial agenda in developing existing and building new client relationships an... Read More »
Wednesday September 20, 2023
Maldivian has signed a firm order for two new ATR 42-600s
Maldivian, the national airline of the Maldives and aircraft manufacturer ATR have signed a firm order for two ATR 42-600 aircraft. These highly efficient new aircraft will join the airline’s existing regional fleet, including two ATR 72-600s and one ATR... Read More »
Wednesday September 20, 2023
Embraer and FlightSafety International have opened a new Praetor full-flight simulator in Orlando, Florida
Embraer and FlightSafety International have opened a new Praetor full-flight simulator in Orlando, Florida. The simulator is already qualified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Initial training for customers is available this month with the recurre... Read More »

2023 MEDIA KIT

AviTrader Aviation Media Pack

Learn more on how AviTrader can expand your market

Please contact

Tamar Jorssen
Vice President Sales & Marketing
+1.778.213.8543
[email protected]
Mailing Address
AviTrader Publications Corp.
Suite 305, South Tower
5811 Cooney Road
Richmond, BC V6X 3M1
Canada

Subscribe to the most widely accepted news source in the aviation industry!


Free Daily, Weekly and MRO Publications delivered to your Inbox!
News Alerts, Editorials, Marketplace, Executive Interviews +more

Select publications:

*we respect your privacy and AviTrader will not share your email address to any 3rd Parties.

Scroll to Top