Boeing 737-800 aircraft in China crash has good safety record
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NEW YORK • The Boeing 737-800 NG model that crashed in China yesterday is considered one of the safest aircraft ever made.
The China Eastern Airlines jetliner carrying 132 people from Kunming in Yunnan province to the manufacturing centre of Guangzhou fell rapidly from cruising altitude, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
The six-year-old single-aisle jet is part of the NG, or Next Generation, era that preceded the 737 Max, which was grounded globally after two deadly crashes.
The NG has one of the best safety records among all aircraft, with just 11 fatal accidents out of more than 7,000 planes delivered since 1997, according to aviation consultancy Cirium.
"The 737 NG has been in operation for 25 years and has an excellent safety record," said Mr Paul Hayes, director of air safety and insurance at Cirium.
"I am not going to speculate on what happened but if the Flightradar24 logs are accurate, something seems to have happened abruptly and the plane nosedived from cruising altitude."
China Eastern Flight MU5735 made a sudden descent from cruising altitude that was interrupted briefly when it actually climbed, according to data posted by Flightradar24.
The plane was headed easterly when, at around 2.21pm, it began a sudden plunge, going from level flight to a descent rate of almost 31,000 feet per minute in about five seconds. That type of descent is well outside any kind of normal flight parameter.
But after about 45 seconds, the descent became less steep and for a few moments the jet climbed by more than 1,000 feet. It went from 7,425 feet up to 8,600 feet in a span of about 10 seconds, according to the Flightradar24 data, which is based on transmissions from the plane. While the earlier dive would have flung items to the ceiling, the rapid rise would have pinned people in their seats.
The climb was short-lived. The jet resumed its dive seconds later, plunging again at about 31,000 feet per minute. The last position recorded on the Flightradar24 track was at around 2.23pm, about a minute and 35 seconds after the incident began.
According to Airsafe.com, which tracks aviation safety, NG models had just 0.07 fatal crashes per million flights as at 2019. That puts it among a rare group that includes the Boeing 747-400 and 737's main competitor, the Airbus SE A320 family.
The most recent fatal crash of a 737-800 before yesterday came in August 2020, when an Air India Express flight slid off the runway in Kozhikode, India, killing 21 people. A probe blamed pilot error.
Previous plane crashes in the mainland
BEIJING • A China Eastern Airlines passenger jet en route to Guangzhou from Kunming with 132 people on board crashed in the subtropical mountains of southern China yesterday, in the mainland's first commercial airliner crash since 2010.
Here are some notable crashes by commercial planes in mainland China over the past four decades, according to Aviation Safety Network, CCAonline.cn, and the Chinese state media.
2010: An Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility, killing 44 of 96 people on board.
2004: A China Eastern plane crashed on Nov 21 shortly after it took off from an airport in northern China, killing 55.
2002: A China Northern Airlines jet carrying 112 people plunged into the sea off the north-east coastal city of Dalian on May 7. There were no survivors.
2000: On June 22, a Wuhan Airlines passenger plane was struck by lightning and exploded in mid-air, crashing in central China. At least 42 on board were killed.
1999: On Feb 24, China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, flying from Chengdu to Wenzhou, disintegrated in mid-air and crashed into a village near Wenzhou, killing all 61 people on board.
1997: China Southern Airlines Flight 3456, a Boeing 737, crashed in Shenzhen during poor weather, killing 35 of 74 people on board.
1994: China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 from Xi'an to Guangzhou crashed on June 6, killing all 160 people on board.
1993: A China Northern Airlines jet crashed as it prepared to land in western China, killing 12.
1993: On July 23, a China Northwest Airlines aircraft crashed into a lake after failing to get airborne during take-off at Yinchuan airport, killing 55 people.
1992: On Nov 24, a China Southern Airlines flight crashed on descent at Guilin airport, killing 141 people on board.
1988: In October, 46 people were killed when a Shanxi Airlines jet crashed in Linfen, in Shanxi province.
1988: On Jan 18, a China Southwest Airlines plane crashed in south-west China's Chongqing, killing 108 people.
1985: A China Civil Aviation airliner carrying 41 people crashed on landing in the eastern city of Jinan on Jan 18, killing 38 people.
1982: On April 26, a China Civil Aviation passenger jet crashed in Guangxi, killing 112.
REUTERS
The 737 Max had been in service for less than two years when it was grounded worldwide in March 2019, after two crashes that killed 346 people. China was the first country to idle the plane and, while it was recertified there in December following adjustments, the plane has not yet been used for commercial flights.
Boeing sent a 737 Max to its new completion and delivery centre in Zhoushan, China, this month.
"The NG is a completely different aircraft from the 737 Max, which has just gone through a rigorous recertification process," said aerospace industry analyst John Strickland. "I wouldn't expect today's crash to have any bearing on the Max's return to service in China."
Boeing said in an e-mailed statement: "We are aware of the initial media reports and are working to gather more information."
BLOOMBERG
