China plane crash: data suggests deliberate act from cockpit

Data recovered after the deadly crash of a Boeing 737-800 in China on March 21 indicates that a person in the cockpit deliberately caused the disaster, the

said Tuesday, May 17, citing people at the made of a preliminary assessment.

Read alsoA Chinese civilian plane reportedly flew over a Taiwanese island

The China Eastern company plane, connecting the cities of Kunming (southwest) and Canton (south), crashed into a mountainside in Guangxi province (south), after an unexplained fall of several thousand meters in just a few minutes.

Activation of descent controls

Information from a black box found after the crash suggests someone activated the controls that caused the descent, according to the business daily, citing people briefed on a preliminary assessment by US officials.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is officially in charge of the investigation.

In a statement at the end of April, she said she had prepared a preliminary report without providing details on what could have caused the accident, which killed 132 people.

As required by international aviation rules, representatives from the US Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are providing technical assistance.

Qualifications “in good standing”

Contacted by AFP on Tuesday, the American agency indicated that it did not want to comment on an investigation led by another authority.

Boeing, also citing rules that only the authority in charge of an ongoing investigation can communicate on its progress, also declined to comment.

In its press release at the end of April, the CAAC assured that the qualifications of the crew and the maintenance personnel of the aircraft were "

" as well as the certificate of airworthiness of the aircraft.

The company China Eastern had previously said that the pilot and the two co-pilots were not the subject of any suspicion.

In general, the Chinese authorities have imposed strict control of information around the disaster.

Read alsoAirliner hijacked in Belarus: cyberdissident Roman Protassevich betrayed by a “mole”

"

," assured one of the sources of the

before pointing out that the Chinese authorities had not so far alerted on any mechanical or flight control issues with the aircraft.

According to the daily, the American authorities are instead turning their attention to the actions of a pilot, with also the possibility that a third person entered the cockpit.

SEE ALSO

– Beijing confirms that no foreign national was on board the crashed plane