China Eastern crash investigation indicates intentional nosedive: report
U.S. officials believe that the deadly China Eastern jet crash in March may have been intentional, sources told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday.
According to the sources, data points to the possibility of an intentional nosedive orchestrated by someone in the cockpit, resulting in the deaths of 132 people.
The airliner crashed on its way from Kunming, China, to Guangzhou, with reports saying that it seemed to launch into a descent at an almost vertical angle.
U.S. accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are aiding the Chinese authorities in their analysis of the incident, which occurred in a U.S.-manufactured jet.
Officials recovered instruments from the Boeing 737-800 to collect data on commands used during the flight. Sources told the Journal that the inputs used on one black box just before the nosedive indicated that commands for the crash were intentional.
“The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit,” a source said.
People familiar with the preliminary assessment of U.S. officials also commented that the Boeing model plane has a stellar safety record when it comes to commercial flying.
During the descent of the plane, Chinese officials were apparently unable to connect with pilots over cockpit microphones.
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