US federal investigators to travel to China, assist Beijing in probing plane crash

In the aftermath of the air disaster of China Eastern flight 5735 on March 21, Joe Biden-led United States officials on Tuesday stated that the US government has granted visas for federal investigators to travel to southern China to assist in the probe. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said China also granted visas to technical advisers from US-based aerospace entity Boeing, which made the plane, engine manufacturer CFM and the Federal Aviation Administration. The said investigation into the lethal crash is said to be carried out under longstanding international agreements between all sides who will partake. 

The safety board told the news agency AP that the US officials and industry technical representatives intend to leave for China by March 3. It was informed that the travel was held up owing to a delay in Chinese visa amid COVID-19 protocols and that the NTSB had urged the State Department to intervene to clear the passage. 

On March 27, Boeing mentioned that a technical team is supporting the NTSB and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in the probe of the doomed Boeing. Reports suggest that due to failure in engineering and exhaustive loss of control, the aircraft headed for a nosedive before it slammed into the hilly terrain of the Guangxi region. 

China Eastern, one of four major Chinese airlines, and its subsidiaries have grounded all their Boeing 737-800s, more than 200 planes. The airline said the grounding was a precaution, not a sign of any problem with the jets. 

China Eastern plane crash

On March 21, China Eastern flight MU5735, carrying 132 people, crashed near Wuzhou in southern China. After the mishap and owing to no evidence, all passengers and nine crew members of the flight were declared dead while both black/orange boxes of the doomed flight have been recovered.

Also, in a press conference on March 22, authorities mentioned they received no response to incessant calls and that the plane even disappeared from radar at 2:23 p.m. local time, three minutes since the nosedive started at a baffling 29,000 feet. The said flight departed from Kunming in southeastern China to Guangzhou, known as an export manufacturing hub adjacent to Hong Kong. 

It is pertinent to mention that the aircraft entity clarified that the pilot and members on board were fit and under no undue influence of intoxication before boarding. While a report indicated that the aeroplane plunged at the speed of sound, several experts are puzzled over China Eastern flight 5735's nosedive while cruising at a height of about 29,000 feet. 

In the aftermath of the crash-landing, the mountain around the site caught massive fire due to the dense forest surrounding the crash site.