As mandated by ICAO accident investigation standards, the Chinese Aviation Authority released a preliminary report 30 days after the accident of China Eastern flight MU5735 that plunged just outside Guangxi, near Mocong Village, killing 123 passengers and a crew of nine.
While the preliminary report does not advance on the causes and states the description of what is known so far, it confirms that the trailing edge of the right winglet has been found twelve kilometers away from the main impact point.
The preliminary report states that the aircraft took off from Runway 21 of Kunming Changshui Airport at 13:16 Beijing time, climbed to its cruising altitude of 8900 meters at 13:27 and entered the Guangzhou control area along the A599 route at 14:17.
At 14:20:55, says the report, Guangzhou area control radar perceived an «altitude deviation» warning, as the aircraft left the cruise altitude assigned to it. The controller called the crew immediately but received no reply.
At 14:21:40, the last recorded aircraft information by the radar was: standard pressure altitude of 3380 meters, ground speed of 1010 km/h, and heading of 117 degrees. Shortly after, the radar signal disappeared.
The CAAC’s report indicates that «the qualifications of the flight crew, cabin crew and maintenance release personnel meet the requirements» and that «the airworthiness certificate of the aircraft in the accident is valid.»
It also states that no dangerous goods were declared in the cargo manifest, and that weather was good and navigation aids were functioning at the time of the accident.
The two recorders (Cockpit Voice and Flight Data) are confirmed to be severely damaged, and the data retrieval and analysis is still in progress.
CAAC closes the China Eastern accident report stating that «the technical investigation team will continue to carry out in-depth investigations such as wreck identification, classification and inspection, flight data analysis, and necessary experimental verification in accordance with relevant procedures, and scientifically and rigorously identify the cause of the accident.»
