BEIJING (Reuters) – A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in the mountains of southern China on Monday on a flight between the cities of Kunming and Guangzhou and it does not seem there are survivors, according to Chinese media.
The cause of the accident is not yet known but according to the specialized site FlightRadar24, the plane suddenly dropped from its cruising altitude.
China Eastern, which opened a hotline for families, dispatched a team to the site of the accident and launched an investigation to try to determine the cause.
The airline has decided to suspend the use of all its Boeing 737-800s, reports the official Chinese press, or 109 aircraft in its fleet, according to FlightRadar24.
The Chinese Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) said contact with the aircraft, which was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, was lost as it flew over the city of Wuzhou.
Online weather data suggests visibility was good in the area at the time, with partly overcast skies.
A rescue service official quoted by Chinese media said the plane had completely disintegrated, setting fire to the bamboo forest it crashed into.
According to a provincial fire official quoted by People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s main media outlet, there appeared to be no signs of survivors in the wreckage of the device.
“Generally in the cruise phase, the plane is on autopilot. It is therefore very difficult to imagine what could have happened,” explained Li Xiaojin, a Chinese expert. “From a technical point of view, such an accident should never have happened.”
A Boeing spokesperson said the American aircraft manufacturer was trying to get more information.
The US Civil Aviation Authority (FAA) said it was ready to participate in the investigation launched by its Chinese counterpart if asked.
Boeing’s stock was listed down 6.4% in pre-opening trading on Wall Street.
The 737-800, the category to which the accident plane belonged, is the predecessor of the 737 MAX, a model banned from flying for more than three years in China following two fatal accidents which occurred in Indonesia in 2018 and in Ethiopia in 2019. .
(Editions from Beijing and Shanghai, and Jamie Freed in Sydney, with contributions from David Shepardson in Washington, written by Robert Birsel; French version Bertrand Boucey and Myriam Rivet, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)