China Eastern plane crash likely intentional, US reports say

Image source, Getty Images

According to US media reports, flight data shows that the China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in March was put into a nose-dive.

According to reports, investigators have not found any mechanical or technical problems with the jet.

The plane was flying between the southern Chinese cities of Kunming and Guangzhou when it crashed.

There were 132 people on the plane who died in the crash.

The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story.

The report said that the data from the black box suggested that inputs to the controls pushed the plane into a near-vertical dive.

The crash was thought to have been caused by an intentional act, according to ABC News.

According to two people briefed on the matter, investigators looking into the crash are looking into the possibility that it was due to intentional action on the flight deck, with no evidence of a technical malfunction.

China Eastern Airlines said the pilots were in good health.

The Wall Street Journal was told by the airline that there was no indication that any of the pilots were in financial trouble.

China Eastern Airlines did not respond to the request for comment.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China did not respond to the request for comment.

The CAAC said last month that the reports that the plane may have been crashed deliberately had gravely misled the public and interfered with accident investigation work.

The Global Times reported on Wednesday that investigators are still analyzing the data from the crash.

The CAAC will carry out the accident investigation in a scientific, rigorous and orderly manner.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, the US National Transportation Safety Board, and plane maker Boeing declined to comment on the Wall Street Journal's report due to guidelines set out by the United Nations.

Under the rules regarding crash investigations, only the investigating agency can comment on an open air accident investigation. The company said it was assisting investigations in China.

The last major accident for Chinese airlines was 12 years ago.

The plane that crashed was less than seven years old.