The Boeing 737-89P operated by China Eastern Airlines, registration B-1791, has crashed. According to official information, 132 people were on board. The machine was en route from Kunming to Guanghzou as MU5735.

At the moment it is still completely unclear why this passenger plane crashed. Chinese authorities say there are no survivors. Videos from people who reached the crash site show that the B-1791 disintegrated into many pieces. The crash caused a fire on the ground, according to Chinese state television.

China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 took off from Kunming on Monday and was en route to Guanghzou. The domestic flight was uneventful until the accident, which happened in the mountains near Teng (Wuzhou). Surveillance camera footage (embedded below) shows that the B-1791 crashed quite vertically. From the currently available data it can be seen that this Boeing 737-89P went into the steep nosedive from the cruising altitude for an unknown reason. Up until this incident, the medium-haul jet was at about 29.000 feet. What caused the crash of this Boeing 737 must now be brought to light by the accident investigation.

China Eastern is no longer using all 106 Boeing 737-800s for the time being

In the aftermath of the fatal accident, the airline China Eastern Airlines decided not to use the Boeing 737-800 aircraft for the time being. The carrier will leave all 106 copies on the ground as a precaution. It is currently unclear how long this measure will last. However, the carrier announced that all identical Boeing 737s would be checked before they could be used again.

It is now clear that there were 1791 passengers and nine crew members on board the B-123. The first official information from China said that 133 people died. However, it turned out that one passenger did not board the flight or missed it and this was fortunate for him because he is alive. China Eastern extends its deepest regrets and condolences to all family members.

It is still completely unclear why B-1791 lost altitude in a very short time and ultimately crashed. The Chinese Civil Aviation Authority confirmed, among other things, the crash and the fact that contact with the cockpit crew was lost immediately before the fatal loss. One does not want to speculate about the cause of the crash and refers to the aircraft accident investigation that has already been initiated. It is hoped that cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders will provide a first clue as to what happened in the final minutes of flight MU5735. Due to the severity of the impact, the devices could have been damaged, but this does not mean that they can no longer be evaluated. It just might take longer.

The crash of the China Eastern Airlines plane caused a fire on the ground in a mountainous forest area, officials said. This is said to have been successfully contained and extinguished by the local fire brigade.