China ‘coated up suicide aircraft crash’ that killed all 132 on board, say US officers
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashed into mountains in Guangxi province, killing all 132 people onboard, with US officials alleging Beijing covered up evidence the pilot deliberately brought the plane down
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 plummeted into mountains in Guangxi province(Image: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock)
Chinese authorities allegedly hid that a suicidal pilot deliberately crashed a plane, killing all 132 people aboard, according to claims from US officials.
The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) appeared to confirm suspicions that China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 plummeted into mountains in Guangxi province due to intentional actions by the pilot. Beijing officials are accused of hiding information about the Boeing 737 disaster in March 2022.
The aircraft’s engines were manually switched off and the autopilot disconnected, sending the plane plunging towards the mountains. Flight recorder data revealed two pilots battling for control as the aircraft continued its descent.
“It was found that while cruising at 29,000ft, the fuel switches on both engines moved from the run position to the cut-off position,” the NTSB said. “Engine speeds decreased after the fuel switch movement.”
The US agency demonstrated the conflicting movements on the pilot’s controls, revealing one crew member tried to save the aircraft while another forced it to keep diving, reports the Mirror.
The crew issued no mayday call during the incident and no emergency transponder code was broadcast before the crash.
The aviation tragedy became one of the most politically sensitive incidents in China’s recent history.
Beijing has subsequently faced accusations of concealing the disaster despite growing demands for increased transparency.
Allegations of pilot error surfaced almost immediately following the crash, with a US investigator telling the Wall Street Journal that “the plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit.”
The subsequent report was later removed from Chinese social media platforms.
The flight crew present in the cockpit during the crash included Captain Yang Hongda, 32, first officer Zhang Zhengping, 59, and trainee second officer Ni Gongtai, 27, who were all aboard at the time, according to MailOnline.
Suspicion centred on Zhang, who was among the major airline’s most experienced pilots. He had allegedly been recently stripped of his captain’s rank, though no official findings determining culpability have been made public.
The disaster is amongst a number of incidents believed to have resulted from pilot suicide. In 2015, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is thought to have intentionally crashed an Airbus into the French Alps, killing all 150 souls aboard.
There has also been conjecture that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished in 2015, was the result of deliberate pilot action. All 239 individuals aboard that flight are believed to have perished.
