China seeking answers to bizarre and tragic plane crash

A China Eastern Airlines flight was en route to Guangzhou, and everything seemed normal. Then it nosedived from 29,000 feet.

Black box found – but still no answers

Crash specialists and Chinese authorities are baffled. Plane crashes do, of course, happen on rare occasions. But there are very few cases – if any – that fit the profile of the Boeing 737-800, which from tens of thousands of feet in the air, pointed almost directly at the ground as it hurtled towards a crash landing.

There has been no word on survivors yet, but it’s almost certain that all 132 people on board will have been killed. While the plane’s black box (an aviation recorder) has been found, there are still countless questions surrounding this tragedy of epic proportions.

Who is to blame?

Since the plane’s crew and air traffic control had maintained normal communication prior to the sudden drop in altitude, the authorities are stumped. John Cox, an aviation safety consultant and former pilot noted that “It’s hard to get the airplane to do this.”

The Boeing plane that crashed has a very strong safety record, so signs point to either deliberate action, pilot error, structural failure, or a mid-air collision. Whatever happened, there will doubtless be plenty of trawling through the wreckage before answers are recovered.