Chinese Regulator Refutes 'Intentional Nosedive' Theory Regarding China Eastern MU5735 Air Crash

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has dismissed foreign media reports that earlier claimed that the ill-fated Boeing aircraft that crashed in March “nosedived intentionally.”

On Wednesday, the CAAC told the Global Times that it has confirmed with personnel of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) who participated in the investigation of the crash of China Eastern Airlines' flight MU5735 in March that they did not release any information about the probe.

The NTSB also told the outlet that it has assisted the CAAC with the investigation, but it does not comment on investigations led by other authorities, and all information related to the investigation will be released by the CAAC.

New York-based Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing "people familiar with U.S. officials' preliminary assessment of what led to the accident," that the plane's "black box points to an intentional nosedive."

Chinese civil aviation industry analysts blasted the U.S. media reports as being unprofessional and causing unnecessary interference with the ongoing investigation. Such unsubstantiated reports amount to vicious smearing against China, the analysts noted.

The CAAC said that the investigation department invited the NTSB from the U.S. as the investigator from the country where the aircraft was designed and manufactured, and the move was made according to the relevant requirements of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

With regard to the progress of the investigation, the CAAC said that the aircraft flight accident investigation department is carrying out in-depth wreck identification, classification and inspection, flight data analysis, experimental verification and other related work, according to the investigation procedures.

In response to a question on the China Eastern MU5735 crash probe following U.S. media reports, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the CAAC has stated it will continue to keep in close contact with all parties involved in the probe and release information promptly and accurately.

"The speculation of the foreign media is really out of line with common sense," Qiao Shanxun, secretary general of the Expert Committee of the Henan Aviation Industry Association, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Qiao cited the rules of the International Civil Aviation Convention, saying that states shall not circulate, publish or give access to a draft report or any part thereof, or any documents obtained during an investigation of an accident or incident, without the express consent of the state that conducted the investigation, unless such reports or documents have already been published or released by that latter state.

"This kind of behavior by relevant parties in the U.S., whether intentional or unintentional, violates the convention, as only the CAAC has the right to publish any relevant information on the investigation result," he said. "Such reporting is unnecessary interference with the accident's investigation."

The CAAC told the Global Times that it will continue to maintain close communication with all parties involved in the investigation, carry out the accident investigation in a scientific, rigorous and orderly manner and disclose the progress of the investigation promptly and accurately in accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the relevant requirements of government information disclosure.

However, although the investigation is still underway, some foreign media outlets, particularly those from the U.S., have been constantly speculating on the cause and other details of the incident, in an apparent vicious smear campaign against China, analysts noted.

In addition, earlier in April, online speculations swirled that the co-pilot "might be responsible" for the crash, claiming the black box data had been disclosed, with some believing that the CAAC will require flight crew to undergo mental health monitoring.

The CAAC refuted rumors surrounding the crash, saying the accident was still under investigation, and no conclusions had been drawn on the cause and nature of the accident yet.

On April 20, China's civil aviation regulator released a preliminary report on the crash, saying that the investigation so far found "no abnormality" in aircraft maintenance or airline personnel.

The CAAC also said that the qualifications of the crew members and maintenance personnel on duty met the requirements, the plane's airworthiness certificate was valid, and there were no abnormalities in navigation and surveillance equipment along the route or dangerous weather conditions.

The CAAC's preliminary report said the two recorders on the plane were severely damaged due to the impact, and the data restoration and analysis work is still in progress. The technical investigation team will continue to carry out in-depth investigations of the accident cause.

The unsubstantiated U.S. media reports come as Boeing, which manufactured the China Eastern plane, is on shaky ground in China and around the world due to two crashes of its Boeing 737 MAX in 2018.

China currently owns 15% of the world's civilian aircraft, a figured expected to reach 18% by 2037, the company wrote on its website. Over the next 20 years, China will need 7,690 new aircraft with a total value of $1.2 trillion, making it the only trillion-dollar civilian aircraft market in the world.

Nevertheless, considering the cause of the air crash has not yet been clearly determined, China Eastern Airlines on April 17 conducted a flight with a Boeing 737-800 airplane after nearly one month's grounding, and it gradually resumed use of the aircraft.