The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing the results of an initial assessment of a Boeing 737-800 crash in China last March that someone in the cockpit had deliberately caused the crash.
The plane belonging to China Eastern Airlines crashed within minutes and for no reason from an altitude of thousands of meters on a mountain slope in Guangxi (southern) province, killing all 132 people on board.
The aircraft was on a March 21 domestic flight between Kunming (southwest) and Guangzhou (south).
The American Financial Journal quotes people familiar with the assessment made by American officials based on the data obtained from the black box of one of the planes, in which a person pressed the command buttons and caused it to land.
China Civil Aviation Authority is formally conducting an investigation.
The government said in a statement at the end of April that it had prepared an initial report without giving details about the cause of the accident.
In accordance with International Aviation Regulations, representatives of the US National Transportation Safety Board will provide technical assistance in the investigation. The American Council on Tuesday contacted AFP to refuse to comment on the other side’s investigation.
Boeing also declined to comment, citing rules that say only an official in charge of an ongoing investigation can report on progress.
In a statement issued in late April, the China Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that the qualifications of cabin crew and maintenance personnel, as well as the certificate of airworthiness, were “eligible”. The Chinese airline confirmed that the pilot and his assistants had no doubts.
And the Chinese authorities exercise strict control over information about the disaster.
The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed source as saying, “The plane did what a co-pilot ordered it to do,” noting that Chinese officials had not yet reported any mechanical or control problems with the plane.
The newspaper confirmed that US officials were focusing on the actions of the pilot or his assistants, and that a fourth person was likely to enter the cockpit.
Source: Lebanon Debate
