A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be heading to China to join the investigation into a China Eastern Airlines flight which went down in Southern China on March 21, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2022) A team from the US National Transportation Safety board (NTSB) will be heading to China to join the investigation into a China Eastern Airlines flight which went down in Southern China on March 21, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters Wednesday.
"In terms of China, I'm very encouraged that the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority invited the NTSB to participate and be on the ground and of course, the FAA stands ready to support the NTSB in any way that they can," Buttigieg told a press conference.
Chinese authorities say data indicates the Boeing 737-800 - with 123 passengers and nine crew aboard - plummeted from 29,000 feet to 8,000 feet, leveled off and then went into a freefall. The passenger aircraft nosedived into the ground and exploded in flames. The crash was filmed by people who witnessed it. There were no survivors.
According to Chinese officials, the plane took off from Kunming, Yunnan province's capital and was scheduled to land in Guangzhou, a port city northwest of Hong Kong.
The airline has grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-800s. In addition to the NTSB, Chinese officials said teams from the US Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and CFM International - which made the plane engines - are joining the investigation.
