China Eastern Airlines decided to resume flights with the Boeing 737-800, even if in small numbers. The Chinese company had suspended flights with the aircraft for almost a month, when a 737-800 in its fleet crashed.
According to data from FlightRadar24, the company put a small number of planes into operation, with the 737-800 registration B-207L making its first flight, between Kunming and Chengdu this Sunday (17).
The company decided to stop operations of approximately 220 737-800s in its fleet while investigations were ongoing. Preliminary and final reports have not yet been released, but investigators managed to recover the black boxes and are working to pinpoint the causes of the accident.
All aircraft in China Eastern's fleet were inspected before resumption of service, which will be gradual, according to the end of each inspection. Test flights are also being conducted before engers board each plane.
So far, there are no signs of a mass problem with the 223 737-800 aircraft in the Chinese company's fleet.
The accident
On March 21, 2022, at dawn Brasilia time, a Boeing 737-800 of the airline China Eastern Airlines with 132 people on board crashed in a mountainous region in the south of the country.
The plane was on flight MU5735 that departed from Kumming (KMG) and had Guangzhou (CAN) as its final destination and had 132 people on board.
O Boeing 737-800 that suffered the accident in China operated under registration B-1791 for China Eastern since 2015, so a relatively new aircraft.
The plane was flying at about 29 feet and according to data from the FlightRadar24 flight monitoring website, the Boeing 737 began to lose altitude quickly. The crew's last with air control took place near the city of Wuzhou in southern China.
In a few seconds the aircraft reached less than 10 feet, some released by the local press show the plane in free fall in the mountains.
Final moments of MU5735 reportedly shows the 737 in a steep dive before crashing into terrain in Guangxi Zhuang. pic.twitter.com/Jwf0lWdoI9
- Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) March 21, 2022
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