Experts of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), involved in the investigation of the March crash of a Boeing 737 passenger jet in China, did not release any information to the media about the investigation and possible causes of the deadly accident, Chinese newspaper Global Times reported on Wednesday, citing the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC)
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2022) Experts of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), involved in the investigation of the March crash of a Boeing 737 passenger jet in China, did not release any information to the media about the investigation and possible causes of the deadly accident, Chinese newspaper Global Times reported on Wednesday, citing the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the preliminary assessments made by US experts involved in the investigation, that the crash of Boeing 737 of China Eastern Airlines could have been caused by the actions of one of the pilots or a third person who entered the cockpit, got hold of the controls and deliberately crashed the plane. The WSJ sources noted that the US side has less information about the incident than China.
According to the CAAC press release sent exclusively to Global Times, the NTSB has denied leaking any investigation information to any media outlets and affirmed its commitment to cooperating with the CAAC based on Annex 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which regulates how accident investigation is carried out.
The CAAC, in turn, said that it will continue the close cooperation with all sides involved in the probe and ensure that it is scientific, extensive and methodical. The agency pledged to publish the detailed report on the crash after the investigation is concluded.
China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed during a domestic flight in southern China on March 21. All 132 people on board, including 123 passengers and nine crew members, were confirmed dead. Causes of the crash remain unspecified and investigators are still examining the two flight recorders found at the crash site.
The crash is the largest air disaster in China in over 11 years. The last major air accident in China was the crash of Henan Airlines flight VD8387 from the city of Harbin to Yichun in August 2010. Forty-two of the 96 people on board died.
