[Presto]

(CNN) (https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/21/china/china-plane-crash-guangxi-intl-hnk/index.html) - A China Eastern Airlines jetliner carrying 132 people crashed in the mountains in southern China's Guangxi region on Monday afternoon, according to the country's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC).

The Boeing 737 was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou when it lost contact over the city of Wuzhou. On board were 123 passengers and nine crew members, CAAC said in a statement posted online.

China Eastern Airlines confirmed those details and said it had activated emergency procedures, including a line for emergency assistance for family members.

Rescue efforts are underway at the scene of the crash, but there were no immediate details on the possible cause or the number of casualties.

China Eastern offered its condolences to those who were killed in the incident, without confirming any death toll.

"The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation. The company expresses its sorrowful condolences to the passengers and crew members who died in this plane crash," the airline said in a statement.

Boeing said in a statement it was "aware of the initial media reports and working to gather more information."

Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed the country's emergency services to "organize a search and rescue" operation and "identify the causes of the accident," state media reported.

"After the accident, President Xi Jinping immediately made instructions to start the emergency mechanism, organize search and rescue, and properly deal with the aftermath," state broadcaster CCTV said.

The aircraft lost contact with emergency services before "suddenly descending" around 2.19 p.m., Chinese government officials and state media reported Monday.

"A China Eastern plane (flight number MU5735) lost contact at 2.15 pm ... Rescue teams are on the way to ground zero, and rescue work is being laid out in order," the Guangxi Emergency Management Department said in a statement.

The plane's altitude dropped from 8,869 meters (29,098 feet) to 1,333.5 meters (4,375 feet) in the span of three minutes, state news agency China News Service reported, citing VariFlight, a Chinese technology company that provides civil aviation data services.

Hours after the accident, CCTV reported that the airline was grounding all its Boeing 737-800s and that the aircraft currently in the air would "not carry more flights after landing."

CCTV also reported that rescue efforts could be hampered by bad weather and limited accessibility to the site.

Heavy rescue equipment was unable to reach the scene -- which lacks electricity -- as it is surrounded by mountains on three sides and accessible only through a narrow path, CCTV said, citing the Guangxi Wuzhou fire department.

Separately, Guangxi Meteorological Bureau warned that the rescue effort could be hindered by an incoming cold front that would see heavy rainfall and a temperature drop in Tengxian County, where the crash site is.

In an interview with state media outlet Beijing Youth Daily, an eyewitness described seeing a plane "falling directly from the sky in front of him around 2 p.m."

"The plane fell vertically from the sky. Although I was very far away, I could still see that it was a plane. The plane did not smoke during the fall. The fire started after it fell into the mountain, followed by a lot of smoke," the witness, who was only identified by his surname, Liu, said.

"My heart was thumping. I immediately informed friends about the situation, that this area is dangerous and not to come nearby," Liu continued.

In a separate interview with China News Service, a resident from Molang village in Tengxian county -- close to the scene of the crash -- reported seeing "wings and pieces of the plane, as well as pieces of clothing hanging from trees."

The witness -- whose name was not published -- told state media he drove his motorcycle to the crash site after hearing "a huge explosion" around 2.40 pm to "see if he could participate in the rescue." The onlooker added that the accident caused "about 10 acres of fire," according to his visual estimates.

Video showing what appears to be a plane falling nose first from the sky circulated widely on Chinese social media Monday, before being picked up and published by state media.

Footage posted online and shared by state media outlet People's Daily show plumes of smoke billowing from a mountainous, forested area. Another clip shows what appears to be wreckage from the plane on a muddy mountain path.

The colors on the Boeing and China Eastern Airlines websites were changed to black and white in China, as a sign of respect in response to the crash.


unverified video of crash:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NOZh2e-GKEs

post crash video:
https://youtu.be/FIONrLgYPB0

RIP. Definitely no survivors.

[Hondaracer]

My Boeing stock really killing it after all the 737 crashes..at least this isn’t the MAX..

That video though..no smoke and no fire etc. when would a plane ever go nose first into the ground like that outside of purposefully guided by the pilot

[Qmx323]

So sad, but true.

Really hoping this isn't what it seems like.

[hud 91gt]

My Boeing stock really killing it after all the 737 crashes..at least this isn’t the MAX..

That video though..no smoke and no fire etc. when would a plane ever go nose first into the ground like that outside of purposefully guided by the pilot

Stall, with a really bad recovery... or a control failure. (Likely option B). Honestly it could be anything. Explosive decompression, causing crew injury/unconsciousness while the auto pilot was off... Who knows. It could be anything. Wait and see. Poor people, RIP.

[EvoFire]

Stall, with a really bad recovery... or a control failure. (Likely option B). Honestly it could be anything. Explosive decompression, causing crew injury/unconsciousness while the auto pilot was off... Who knows. It could be anything. Wait and see. Poor people, RIP.

Would the black box survive a straight to the ground, whole plane disintegrated kind of crash?

[hud 91gt]

I think they are pretty robust, so I’d say there is a very good chance it would survive.

[CivicBlues]

post crash video:
https://youtu.be/FIONrLgYPB0

RIP. Definitely no survivors.

Terrible, terrible tragedy all around no matter what the cause.

OT, but does anyone know what dialect that person is speaking in the video? Sounds like Hokkien but I'm not aware of a large Hokkien speaking population in Guangxi.

[hud 91gt]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-21/737-model-in-china-crash-has-strong-safety-record-isn-t-the-max

Radar shows a descent, a short climb then back to a descent. Structural incident? Control malfunction? Physical actions? This is a weird one.

[68style]

Read an eyewitness report from a villager who said the plane came down vertical instead of horizontal... that sounds bizarre.

[StylinRed]

Terrible, terrible tragedy all around no matter what the cause.

OT, but does anyone know what dialect that person is speaking in the video? Sounds like Hokkien but I'm not aware of a large Hokkien speaking population in Guangxi.

Sounds like lolo's when they speak mandarin, not sure though been aaaaaggges since I heard them, and they live in the areas of yunnan guangxi etc

[PeanutButter]

Oh man, I was trying to read if it was the MAX or not...

737-800 are pretty safe, aren't they?

[Hondaracer]

One of the largest produced variants I believe

[Traum]

The following link from an HK media outlet shows a supposed video of the plane falling down:

https://www.hk01.com/%E5%8D%B3%E6%99%82%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B/749643/%E6%9D%B1%E8%88%AAmu5735%E7%A9%BA%E9%9B%A3-%E5%A2%9C%E6%AF%80%E5%89%8Dcctv%E6%9B%9D%E5%85%89-%E6%A9%9F%E9%A0%AD%E6%9C%9D%E4%B8%8B%E7%9B%B4%E7%B 7%9A%E5%A2%9C%E8%90%BD-%E9%81%8E%E7%A8%8B%E5%83%855%E7%A7%92

[whitev70r]

That's the weirdest & strangest way I've seen a plane crash, it's like a missile with its nose pointing down. How does that happen?

[Hondaracer]

I’m not any sort of aviation expert, far from it. But I have quite the interest in aviation and have watched and read tonnes of content on airplanes, construction, engines, airframes, etc. I’ve also watched like every episode of May Day a few times lol

In the case of a hull loss that would cause a crash I don’t think the airframe would be intact like the video shows? Especially if it was severe enough to disable the plane the plane wouldn’t just go into an intact nose dive.

I’ve also flown quite a bit with harbour air and other float planes locally and talked to those pilots and they’ve always said those things fly like rocks but even if the engines went they could still glide to “attempt” a landing obviously different when you’re a few thousand feet up VS 36,000+

Engine failure etc. you’d think they would have radioed somthing

[Traum]

In the case of a hull loss that would cause a crash I don’t think the airframe would be intact like the video shows? Especially if it was severe enough to disable the plane the plane wouldn’t just go into an intact nose dive.

The big question that I have in mind is -- how can we tell whether the plane is still intact at the time when the video recorded its fall? The HK01 news article says that "according to the video, the plane was still intact at the time of the fall". But if you were to ask me, all I saw is a straight line dropping down from the sky. Based on the video, I couldn't make out anything that might resemble the tail stabilizers, nor can I make out the wings.

If you or the news reports can see those from the video, then all I can say is, you guys have got better eye sights than I do!

[hud 91gt]

With a dual engine failure, the angle the aircraft comes down would be pretty indistinguishable from the airplanes you see landing everyday. From altitude, arrivals are planned at idle. Sure there is still thrust but not much. Once stabilized on final approach, with all the drag (gear and flaps), some thrust is required to hold your speed, but to the average person, the angle of approach with no engines, and a normal approach would be less then a degree (Assuming no gear/flaps on the no engine a/c). Now that I’m thinking about it, it would be neat to see the drag from a free spinning turbofan vs a piston prop. The drag on a windmilling prop a/c is fairly high…. Either way gliding distance on the 767 was fairly fun to play with. Can’t say I’ve tested it on the 737.

[hud 91gt]

The big question that I have in mind is -- how can we tell whether the plane is still intact at the time when the video recorded its fall? The HK01 news article says that "according to the video, the plane was still intact at the time of the fall". But if you were to ask me, all I saw is a straight line dropping down from the sky. Based on the video, I couldn't make out anything that might resemble the tail stabilizers, nor can I make out the wings.

If you or the news reports can see those from the video, then all I can say is, you guys have got better eye sights than I do!

Accident investigators have a pretty good idea due to the wreckage. Impact, where things spread out too etc. If the tail is found a mile away, chances are it wasn’t attached on impact. Black box will tell the rest of the story. There is sensors on everything (control surfaces). System monitors etc. If a control surface ripped off in flight you’d see hydraulic issues etc.

The odd thing about this one is the lack of radio calls, and the extreme angle. The dash cam footage shows it not nearly as straight down, but still very odd. Catastrophic event, or purposeful event. Hijacking, mental illness etc.

[StylinRed]

The following link from an HK media outlet shows a supposed video of the plane falling down:

https://www.hk01.com/%E5%8D%B3%E6%99%82%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B/749643/%E6%9D%B1%E8%88%AAmu5735%E7%A9%BA%E9%9B%A3-%E5%A2%9C%E6%AF%80%E5%89%8Dcctv%E6%9B%9D%E5%85%89-%E6%A9%9F%E9%A0%AD%E6%9C%9D%E4%B8%8B%E7%9B%B4%E7%B 7%9A%E5%A2%9C%E8%90%BD-%E9%81%8E%E7%A8%8B%E5%83%855%E7%A7%92


From a dashcam and different angle

https://mobile.twitter.com/ChinaAvReview/status/1505856305495351296

Also if you look in the thread there's footage from the crash site, there's literally nothing left, so shocking

Reports from China say there was a passenger that was denied boarding due to issues with their covid passport, not sure how true that is but damn

[donk.]

The pictures of the aftermath do not make any sense, it literally broke into a million fractional pieces

Unless its buried under all that dirt

[hud 91gt]

The pictures of the aftermath do not make any sense, it literally broke into a million fractional pieces

Unless its buried under all that dirt

You’d be amazed.

I was at the First Air 6560 crash site back in 2011. 737 crash, at final approach speed/angle (aka slow) and the thing disintegrated. Now triple that speed, straight into the ground and well….


https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.165426.1337372067!/httpImage/image._gen/derivatives/landscape_1020/image

[Bouncing Bettys]

One of the arguments 9/11 Truthers used to use was how Flight 93 impacted the ground and left so few parts or bodies. They couldn't comprehend the absolute destruction and pulverization of an impact at those speeds. I imagine this impact was similar.

A failed part could be enough to make a plane uncontrollable. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed because of a fatigued jackscrew, causing all loss of pitch control.

[Hondaracer]

In that case though you’d be able to make radio contact before crashing

[hud 91gt]

In that case though you’d be able to make radio contact before crashing

I’d tend to agree with you. It’s plausible if two people are fighting to get the A/C under control, you may have other priorities. At that point a radio call is only accomplishing the task of telling Revscene you were able to communicate on the radio.

[Gumby]

Hud_91gt, what’s your line of work again? A commercial pilot if I remember correctly?

[hud 91gt]

I currently fly a scary (sarcasm for those fearful of flying) 737.

[EvoFire]

I currently fly a scary (sarcasm for those fearful of flying) 737.

That's pretty cool, which airline do you fly for? I need a "pick hud's pilot brain" thread.

[Hondaracer]

I currently fly a scary (sarcasm for those fearful of flying) 737.

Cool! :thumbs:

[hud 91gt]

That's pretty cool, which airline do you fly for? I need a "pick hud's pilot brain" thread.

I’d rather not say, due to all the stupid crap I say on these forums lol. But if you’ve flown in Canada, you’ve likely flown on my airline.

[68style]

If the crap you say is stupid what is that saying about stuff I say :ahwow:

[bcrdukes]

I currently fly a scary (sarcasm for those fearful of flying) 737.

Is it a Max 8? :troll:

[hud 91gt]

If the crap you say is stupid what is that saying about stuff I say :ahwow:

Inspirational?

[hud 91gt]

Is it a Max 8? :troll:

No comment. Lol.

[Eff-1]

I currently fly a scary (sarcasm for those fearful of flying) 737.

AVgeek here. Always loved commercial aviation since I was a kid. But I don't have the time these days to go spotting as much as I used to, unfortunately. If you don't mind me asking, how did you train/get hired, and were you able to keep working during the pandemic?

[Razor Ramon HG]

AVgeek here. Always loved commercial aviation since I was a kid. But I don't have the time these days to go spotting as much as I used to, unfortunately. If you don't mind me asking, how did you train/get hired, and were you able to keep working during the pandemic?

This might be oversimplified, but my friend took a bunch of classes, built up flight hours, and obtained his licenses through exams. Once he had the proper prerequisites, applied for a regional airline where he's working now. He plans on applying for a commercial airline once he racks up enough flight hours.

He was laid off for what felt like probably a year during the height of the pandemic, but he's been back to work for a while now. He worked a part-time job while he was laid off.

The amount of money you spend on becoming a pilot is no joke.

[Eff-1]

The amount of money you spend on becoming a pilot is no joke.

Not only that, the health requirements are such that your career can be over instantly if you suddenly didn't qualify. That's quite a stressful thing to worry about each year (or maybe that's just me).

For all of the reasons mentioned, those who make a career out of it and make it to retirement, I have huge props for. They followed their dreams with zero fucks given and made it work.

[hud 91gt]

They found a black box containing the voice recorder!



As for getting your licence/job. Honestly this day and age is probably one of the easiest it’s ever been. With the outlook of pilots required, it’s only going to get easier in my eyes. Feeder airline requirements have been extremely low prior to covid. If you get a job there your pretty much set.

- I got my private license at 17.
- Went to a college with a recognized aviation diploma (by the airlines). Graduated.
- Worked a ramp job locally, realized there was no real guarantee to get flying out west.
- Moved to northern Manitoba to throw bags (with said expensive licenses).
- Eventually started flying as a copilot is a small light twin. Moved through their fleet of aircraft from off strip airplanes into hunting camps, mining strips, fly in only communities. Moving dead animals, dead bodies, court parties, fried chicken into and out of said destinations. Flew Medivac aircraft into out of small communities.
- Lucky enough to start a position at a well known Northern Airline, where I lived in Nunavut for 3 years.
- Started at a major carrier where I’ve been for over 10 years. At the time my journey was extremely short, unheard of. My timing was incredible, and I’ve been through a couple layoff periods while being untouched (also unheard of).
I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think someone started today couldn’t do something under a similar timeline.

The medical thing… sure you need to qualify. But you don’t need to be super man to qualify. There is a lot of unknown things in this world that you can’t control. If you worry about passing a medical every year as a young adult, I don’t know how your nerves would handle the unknowns that come with the career.


The major airlines are looking for degrees/recognized aviation diplomas right now. I do see that requirement being a bit of an issue in the future with the forecast requirements.

Enough about me, back on topic.

[hud 91gt]

“ On Mar 25th 2022 the CAAC reported in the 5th press conference, that the gear box of an engine as well as the main landing gear have been found and recovered. Some of the aircraft parts showed traces of fire. The CVR's memory chip is damaged and needs to be sent to the chip manufacturer for repair according to recommendation by the manufacturer. At this time there are no time estimates of when the data can be downloaded.”

[!Kodamu]

From the 7th press conference:
- All 132 people on board the crashed plane have been confirmed dead, as announced by the Deputy Administrator of the CAAC.
- Rescue teams had identified 120 of the victims so far through DNA analysis.
Source: CGTN(China Global Television Network) https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-03-26/C ... index.html

From the 8th press conference:
- New footage from a CCTV camera located 8km north of the crash site has been found, but the footage has not been released.
- The storage unit of the FDR was found on a slope about 40 meters east of the main impact site, at a depth of about 1.5 meters below the surface.
- The storage unit of the FDR appears intact, other parts severely damaged.
- The storage unit has been sent to a decoding lab in Beijing aboard a China Eastern chartered flight.
- So far, a total of 33,777 pieces of debris have been found.
- Compensation work has begun.

[nabs]

- Moved to northern Manitoba to throw bags (with said expensive licenses).


As someone who had to move to northern Manitoba for work as well, FUCK THAT SHIT! LOL

I spent many of months in Thompson and surrounding towns. It's so depressing.

[ryany]

As someone who had to move to northern Manitoba for work as well, FUCK THAT SHIT! LOL

I spent many of months in Thompson and surrounding towns. It's so depressing.

I worked in Thompson for a couple years and it is a bit of a shit hole, but the people I met there were great! Boston Pizza was the place to be lol

[hud 91gt]

Pasta Tuesday! Lol. Thompson was rough, but at least it had some form of civilization. Walmart, Safeway… Canadian Tire! What else could you ask for?

Thompson and The Pas for me… with a lot of time in Pukatawagon.

[nabs]

I worked in Thompson for a couple years and it is a bit of a shit hole, but the people I met there were great! Boston Pizza was the place to be lol

Bruh, I ate at the HUB by mistake one day.... I had no idea. hahahah. I went there at night.

After that it was everyday all day Boston Pizza.

I can vouch for the people there, I did some work for the Airport and some of the people at the Airport were really really good genuine nice people.

[Oscar_Binswood]

Pasta Tuesday! Lol. Thompson was rough, but at least it had some form of civilization. Walmart, Safeway… Canadian Tire! What else could you ask for?

Thompson and The Pas for me… with a lot of time in Pukatawagon.

Ahhh Thompson Walmart really brought back nostalgic memories of the Guildford Mall Walmart pre-renovations.

When I was there, the Safeway produce always looked like produce big city grocery stores would throw out 🤢.

My go to guilty pleasure was River View Chinese Food.

[ryany]

Bruh, I ate at the HUB by mistake one day.... I had no idea. hahahah. I went there at night.

After that it was everyday all day Boston Pizza.

I can vouch for the people there, I did some work for the Airport and some of the people at the Airport were really really good genuine nice people.

Cool man I worked at the airport too! (for one of the 2 airlines that operated out of there lol)

Totally agree that people there were awesome and still friends to this day.

[trollface]

I was on a plane once and one of the engines exploded. Fun