China to start civil aviation safety hazard probe days after plane crash kills 132: Report

Days after a Boeing 737 aircraft crashed with 132 people onboard, China has decided to carry out civil aviation safety hazard investigation. The probe will be initiated with an eye towards ensuring the safety of aviation operations and lives of people, the Office of the Chinese State Council Safety Committee said on Wednesday, as quoted by Global Times.

The statement by the council comes after an Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 aircraft of China plummeted from mid-air and crashed in the mountains in southern China on Monday (March 21). As per reports, the flight experienced a sudden plunge from a cruising altitude at about the time when it would normally start to descend ahead of its landing. Media reports about updates on the said crash suggested there was no sign of survivors at the site.

Chinese Boeing 737 plane crash

When it crashed, the flight was en route from the southwestern city of Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong. Provincial firefighting department teams carried out search operations at the site, where a massive fire from the crash incinerated bamboo trees. Chinese media ran unverified footage that showed the course of the flight before it nose-dived from mid-air and ended up in a tragic accident. After an "all-out" rescue operation, the team informed that there was "no sign of life" amid the debris. Earlier, searchers had deployed drones and sniffer dogs to find out the cause of the accident.

Investigation teams discover black box at Boeing 737 crash site

In a major breakthrough, the Chinese teams investigating the crash site have discovered one of the black boxes from the mound of ruins of the Boeing 737. The flight operations recorder indicated that the plane unexpectedly dipped from mid-flight and crashed into the mountainous forest.

"The aircrew had maintained normal communication with their traffic control units since the aircraft took off from Kumming until the sudden drop in altitude," South China Morning Post quoted Mai Yanfeng, director of the accident investigation unit at the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), as saying. He also informed that the weather was suitable for flying and the conditions were not dangerous when the mishap took place.

(Image: AP)