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CAAC confirms China Eastern Airlines 737-800 crash: rescue teams report no sign of survivors
March 22nd 2022
A China Eastern Airlines (CEA) 737-800, registration B-1791, has crashed about 120nm west of Guangzhou in southern China. Read More » In a statement on its website, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) confirmed the aircraft had crashed on Monday March 21and that there were 123 passengers and nine crew on board MU5735. The aircraft was operating from Kunming to Guangzhou. The CAAC has activated an emergency mechanism and investigators and rescue teams are at the scene of the accident. The Aviation Herald has reported the six-and-a-half-year-old Boeing narrow-body was flying at 29,100ft and nearing the top of descent about 130nm west of Guangzhou when it "suddenly lost altitude and impacted the ground about 119nm west of Guangzhou in a mountain area”. CEA has announced its 737-800 fleet will be suspended from flying from today.
Boeing 737-800 aircraft differ from the newer 737-800 MAX that was grounded in March 2019 after two fatal crashes took the lives of 346 passengers and crew. Several airlines have returned the MAX to service in the last 12 months after modifications were made to the operating systems of the type. China has lifted a ban on MAX aircraft operating on the Mainland.
