One of the two “black box” recorders from a downed Chinese plane has been found with its casing severely damaged, two days after the aircraft crashed with 132 people on board.
MU5735, a China Eastern flight, fell from the sky on Monday afternoon into a mountainous area in Guangxi province, southern China. No survivors have been found from the 123 passengers and nine crew.
Recovery teams discovered one of its two flight recorders today. China’s aviation authority said that it was “highly likely” to be a cockpit voice recorder.
All three pilots on the flight were properly licensed and in good health, Sun Shiying, president of China Eastern Yunnan Airlines, said today at a news conference. “Their behaviour had been good and their families were all quite harmonious,” Sun said.
The captain on the flight, who gained his promotion four years ago, had a total of 6,709 hours of flying. The first officer was highly experienced, with more than 31,000 hours, and the second officer had 556 hours, Sun said.
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The aircraft, acquired in June 2015, had been strictly maintained according to its schedule, he added. “Its technical condition was stable and normal. Before its takeoff, it met all the maintenance requirements and was suitable for flying. It had a normal go-ahead.”
Mao Yanfeng, director of the accident investigation division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said there were no unusual weather conditions at the time of the crash.
“The weather along the flight route was suitable for flying. There was no hazardous condition,” Mao said.
After taking off from the southwestern city of Kunming, the flight crew had maintained normal communications with the ground until suddenly losing altitude, Mao said.
Flight data show the plane dropped from its cruising height of about 29,000 feet and gained speed as it fell almost vertically. The aircraft apparently made a brief pull-up at 7,400 feet and climbed to 8,500 feet before a second dive sent the plane crashing.
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Air traffic control noticed the plane was falling rapidly at 2.20pm, made repeated attempts to contact the crew but received no response, the aviation authorities said.
Radar signals for MU5735 disappeared at 2.23pm. The plane had been flying to the southern city of Guangzhou.
