What’s new: One cockpit recorder of the crashed China Eastern Airlines jetliner was found and sent for analysis as rescue workers continue scouring the wreckage of flight MU5735 scattered across a southern China mountainside.
The recorder, one of the two so-called black boxes on board, was initially determined to be a cockpit voice recorder. The device’s exterior was “severely damaged,” according to an air safety official at a Wednesday briefing. The second box, the flight-data recorder, has yet to be found, the official said.
Some human body parts were recovered as of Wednesday evening, officials said.
More than 330 rescue workers are involved in the search at the crash site, which covers 46,000 square meters, or about 6½ soccer fields. Work was suspended Wednesday after a rainstorm hit, according to officials at the briefing.
The background: Investigators are searching for clues as to why the Boeing Co. 737-800 NG jet plunged out of the sky in a nosedive before striking a hillside in Guangxi Monday afternoon.
With 132 people on board, the flight was on its way from Kunming, southwestern China’s Yunnan province, to Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong. No survivors were found.
Weather conditions during the time of the accident were normal. All three pilots had valid licenses, health certificates and solid experience, officials said. China Eastern said the aircraft involved had been inspected well before takeoff and met the flight conditions.
Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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