At 06:22 (UTC), a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 operating flight MU 5735 disappeared from radars while flying the route connecting Kunming (KMG) and Guangzhou (CAN).
According to the Chinese Civil Administration, the Boeing 737-89P (B-1791) was carrying 132 passengers and nine crew and had been delivered to the airline in June 2015.
The Flightradar24 platform captured the aircraft flying at 29,000 ft, minutes away from initiating the first approach leg to Guangzhou. At that time, a nosedive to over 450 kt (850 km/h) is observed.
Within the hour, it was confirmed that the aircraft fell in a mountainous area in the Guangxi Autonomous Region, in the south of the country, causing a forest fire in the surrounding area.
In several videos broadcast by the CCTV channel, the severity of the impact of the Boeing 737 NG could be seen, plummeting at high speed. Other videos uploaded to social media show a fire in the impact area and the total disintegration of the plane against the ground.
Last moments of the flight:
Dash cam footage pic.twitter.com/w8iOzHblXE
— ChinaAviationReview (@ChinaAvReview) March 21, 2022
Unfortunately, given the magnitude of the crash and the impact, it is unlikely that any survivors will be found.
According to local media reports, China Eastern Airlines decided to cancel all flights on the company’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft and opened a special hotline for the assistance of the flight’s relatives.
The crash is one of China’s worst air disasters in two decades, following a succession of fatal crashes in the 1990s.
During this time, the country markedly improved its safety record. Therefore it became one of the safest regions in the world, thanks to constant fleet renewal and tighter controls. The last accident of similar magnitude was in 2012 when a Henan Airlines Embraer E190 crashed on approach to Yichun Lindu airport, killing forty-four people.
Boeing and China Eastern shares have plummeted by 7% and 10% respectively.
This is a developing story.
