One of the four major Chinese airlines has grounded more than 200 aircraft. After the biggest disaster of the flight MU5735 for the Chinese aviation industry, China Eastern Airline has grounded all the Boeing 737-800 for inspection. It doesn’t mean that China Eastern Airlines won’t operate Boeing 737-800 aircraft, but to ensure the airworthiness of each aircraft. This is only for precautionary measures, not a sign that there is a problem in the plane. The aircraft that was involved in the crash belonged to the Yunnan subsidiary and was six and a half years in service. The plan was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in June 2015.
Aircraft Inspection
For making the airworthiness, the aircraft are regularly checked. As for China Eastern Airlines, the regulatory authorities declare an inspection for all the Boeing 737-800. China Eastern Airlines has a fleet of 186 Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline has been operating this fleet for more than 7 years, and its rank is 40 among 277 other airlines. The currently active B737 from 186 are 116, of which 25 are B737-700, and 91 are B737-800.
China Eastern said that the aircraft are under targeted flight test verification. This test will ensure that the passenger operating aircraft meets all the safety and airworthiness standards of CAAC. Mainly, the inspection of structural fitness, systemic testing, and continuous airworthiness data verification is carried out.
Resuming Flying of Boeing 737-800
China Eastern Airlines has suspended the operations of Boeing 737-800 for one month and grounded all the B737-800 fleet for inspection. Nearly one month ago, China Eastern Airlines resumed flying and conducted a flight with a B737-800. Those B737-800 planes whose registration numbers are close to the MU5735 were still under inspection.
China Eastern flight MU5843, which is a 3-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft, takes off from Kunming and lands in Chengdu on Sunday, then it flies back to Kunming after completing its test flight. Another Boeing 737-800 aircraft has conducted a flight test in Shanghai (Flightradar24).
Deadliest Air Disaster
On 21 March 2022, the China Eastern plane B737-800 flight no MU5735 was en route to Guangzhou from Kunming. After the one-hour flight, the plane suddenly at 29,000 feet turn its nose down steeply toward the ground. Within a few minutes, the plane crashed into the mountainous range of Guangxi, killing all 132 passengers and the crew members on board.
The flight MU5735 crash is the fourth crash of the Chinese eastern airline, and this is considered the worst of all. China has given the preliminary findings of the crash as it is essential to submit the report within 30 days of the accident. Although a complete investigation report may take a year before it is published. Both black boxes have been recovered, and the investigation team is working intently to decode the data in them. The United States has also sent a team to China to determine the cause of the accident. The US is given the authority of representative for the crash investigation as the aircraft was manufactured in the US.
According to the NTSB, China has granted visas to the technical staff of Boeing, Engine manufactures, and the FAA. All these would take part in the investigation and help in determining the cause of the accident.
Read More About: China Eastern Airline Crash of Boeing 737-800
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Effect of the Accident on the Boeing Industry
The Boeing 737-800 has a solid safety background, and even in this plane, there were no technical problems. The plane was in a fully airworthy condition, as said by the investigation team. However, the Boeing Company has not made any comments on this crash and referred this to CAAC. One of the Boeing spokespersons said that we are working with our customers and are willing to support them. Boeing is fully in contact with the US NBTS, and our technical expert staff is ready to help and support the investigation.
This accident would be a major setback for the Boeing 737 MAX to return to China. As China is considered the last big market that would take approval for the flying of B737 MAX. This is because the B737 Max had two big disasters, one in Indonesia and the other in Ethiopia, in 2018 and 2019. 346 people were killed in these crashes, after this, all the B737 MAX were grounded.
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