Beijing: The cause of the plane crash in China in 2022 has been revealed. A recent report reveals that the cause of the China Eastern Airlines passenger plane, MU5735, crashing in a remote area of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in March 2022 was the deliberate switching of the fuel control switches for both engines to the "cut-off" position while the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 29,000 feet.
According to Thai News Agency, data from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report indicates that information from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) shows the fuel switches for both engines were pulled and moved to the off position almost simultaneously. In the Boeing 737-800 model, these switches are mechanical and require force to be pulled up before they can be moved, to prevent unintentional errors. After the fuel was cut off, engine speed decreased immediately, and there is no evidence that the pilots attempted to re-switch the switches to restart the engines.
In addition to the fuel issue, data shows that the autopilot system was disabled and the control stick was pressed down forcefully, causing the aircraft to plummet to the ground almost vertically. Meanwhile, data from the cockpit voice recorder contains sounds suggesting that the two pilots may have been struggling for control of the aircraft in the final moments before the crash.
To date, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has not released a complete official report and has denied that the incident was deliberate, citing concerns that disclosure could "affect national security and social stability." However, most evidence points to human error rather than structural problems with the Boeing aircraft. Previously, several media outlets speculated that the crash was caused by the pilot intentionally crashing the plane.
On March 21, 2022, a China Eastern Airlines passenger plane, flight MU5735, departing from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, en route to Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, crashed about an hour after taking off and nearing its destination. The plane plummeted nose-first from its normal altitude of 29,000 feet, losing several thousand meters in just three minutes before crashing into a remote mountainous area in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. All 132 people on board perished in the crash, making it China's worst air tragedy in over 30 years. This incident led to a nationwide review of pilot safety standards and the mental health of pilots.