The tragic crash of a Boeing 737-800 in China, operated by China Eastern Airlines, remains a big mystery. Aviation engineers were confused about what might be the cause.
As quoted by us from Euro News, Wednesday (23/3/2022) although there have been several accidents involving this model plane, experts still rate it as one of the safest types of aircraft in the world.
Carrying 132 passengers, the ill-fated Boeing 737-800 suddenly plunged vertically out of control, then crashed into a mountain and caused a huge fire. Tragically, it is almost certain that there were no survivors.
Experts were surprised that this young plane, less than 7 years old, could have such an accident. According to the AirSafe website, the Boeing 737-800 only crashes 0.24 times per million flights.
"The Boeing 737-800 series has a great safety record since the 1990s and has thousands of units around the world," said Flight Safety Foundation CEO Hassan Shahidi.
"The sudden and unusual vertical fall of this aircraft, from its cruising altitude, is extremely disconcerting. Investigators will be observing all aspects and it is too early to speculate as to what caused it," he said.
In cruise mode at its flying altitude, flight MH5735 is believed to be on autopilot mode which should be very safe. "So it is very difficult to understand what happened," said aviation expert in China, Li Xiaojin.
At an altitude of 8,800 meters and close to their destination, the pilot should be preparing to land. But what happened was, the Boeing 737-800 plane suddenly dived at high speed, crashed into a mountain and was destroyed.
Knowlede's Chief Aerospace Editor, Wang Ya'nan, theorized that there could be an electrical problem. "It is very possible that the aircraft lost power at flying altitude, causing the pilot to lose control," he said.
"This was a very serious technical failure that the aircraft dived at high speed without being prevented," he continued. But of course it's still a theory.
The Boeing 737-800 is a variant of the 737NG or next-generation. The Boeing 737NG series currently has three variants, namely the 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900.
Dimensionally, this aircraft has a length of 39.5 meters, wingspan of 35.8 meters and a height of 12.5 meters, citing the Delta website.
The jet engine used is the CFM-56 type with two turbofans (wing mounted) and the speed can reach 850 km per hour, and the cruising range is up to 4,563 km.