China Eastern plane 'deliberately crashed'

Investigators looking into the crash of a China Eastern Airlines jet are examining the actions of the crew on the flight deck, with no evidence found of a technical malfunction, two people briefed on the matter said.

In China's deadliest aviation disaster for 28 years, the Boeing 737-800 crashed in the mountains of southern Guangxi on March 21, after a sudden plunge from cruising altitude, killing all 123 passengers and nine crew.

The pilots did not respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers and nearby planes during the rapid descent, authorities have said.

The Journal said flight data from one of the black boxes indicated that someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the plane, citing people familiar with the preliminary assessment of US officials. One source told Reuters that investigators were looking at whether the crash was a "voluntary" act involving crew inputs to the controls.

The cockpit voice recorder was damaged during the crash and it is unclear whether investigators have been able to retrieve any information from it.

Boeing, the maker of the jet, and the US National Transportation Safety Board declined to comment and referred questions to Chinese regulators.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China, which is leading the investigation, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Screenshots of the Journal story appeared to have been censored both on China's Weibo social media platform and the Wechat messaging app yesterday.

In an April 11 response to internet rumors of a deliberate crash, the CAAC said the speculation had "gravely misled the public" and "interfered with the accident investigation work."

China Eastern did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The carrier grounded its entire fleet of 737-800 planes after the crash but resumed flights in mid-April, a decision widely seen at the time as ruling out any immediate new safety concerns over Boeing's most widely used model.

Yesterday, a woman who lost her husband in the crash, asked to be identified only by her surname, Wen, said she had not seen the Journal report but hoped the results of the investigation would be released soon.

Wen added that she and other members of victims' families had signed an agreement with China Eastern that included a clause on compensation, but declined to say how much was offered.