China Eastern plane crash likely intentional, US reports say

Flight data suggest a China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in March was deliberately forced into a nosedive, according to US media reports.

Investigators have not found any mechanical or technical defects on the jet, the reports said, citing a preliminary assessment by US officials.

The Boeing 737-800 was flying between the southern Chinese cities of Kunming and Guangzhou when it crashed.

All 132 passengers and crew on board the plane died in the crash.

“The plane did what it was told by someone in the cockpit,” according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, citing a person familiar with US officials’ preliminary assessment of the cause of the crash.

Data from one of the plane’s “black box” flight recorders recovered at the crash site indicated that inputs to the controls propelled the plane into a near-vertical dive, the report said.

ABC News also reported, citing US officials, that the crash was believed to have been caused by a premeditated act.

Investigators investigating the crash are looking into whether it resulted from a deliberate action on the flight deck, without finding evidence of a technical malfunction, according to Reuters, which quoted two people with knowledge of the matter.

China Eastern Airlines earlier said the three pilots on board are qualified and in good health.

The airline separately told The Wall Street Journal that there was no indication that any of the pilots were in financial trouble.

China Eastern Airlines did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which is leading the investigation into the crash, also did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

Last month, the CAAC said reports that the plane may have crashed intentionally had “seriously misled the public” and “impaired the accident investigation work.”

Investigators are still analyzing the flight data and debris from the crash, China’s state press Global Times reported on Wednesday.

It also said that the CAAC will continue to “conduct the accident investigation in a scientific, rigorous and orderly manner.”

The Chinese embassy in Washington, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and aircraft manufacturer Boeing declined to comment on the Wall Street Journal report due to guidelines from the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization.

“Under crash investigation rules … only the investigative body can comment on an outdoor accident investigation,” a Boeing spokesman told the BBC on Wednesday. The company previously said it was supporting investigations in China and communicating with the NTSB.

Chinese airlines generally have a good safety record – the last major accident was 12 years ago.

The crashed China Eastern Airlines plane was less than seven years old.