China Orders Air Sector Inspections as China Eastern Flight 5735 Investigation Continues

The move comes as investigators continue to look for clues as to why China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashed with over 130 souls aboard on Monday, March 21, 2022.

Inspection to Include Traffic Control, Airlines and Training Centers

Reuters reports the inspection process will focus on the major stakeholders of the Chinese aviation industry, including airlines, traffic control centers and pilot training centers. The goal is to ensure “absolute” safety of both workers and passengers’ lives while flying in China.

While the inspection is intended to keep current passengers alive, determining what brought the Boeing 737-800 operating the flight will be much more challenging. In a government briefing attended by Reuters, officials say they will face a “very high level” of difficulty in piecing together what happened, due to the extreme damage of the airframe. Leaders from the Civil Aviation Authority of China have not yet announced if they have discovered the “black box,” containing the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

The investigators also said the aircraft (pictured above) “had met airworthiness standards” prior to the departure, while the crew was reportedly in “good health.” Although it is feared everyone aboard perished in the crash, search and rescue teams remain on site in the hopes of finding at least one survivor.

In the meantime, China Eastern Airlines has voluntarily grounded their fleet of 225 Boeing 737-800 aircraft indefinitely. Other airlines are continuing to operate their 737-800 airframes, which total over 1,200 in China alone.

Boeing 737 Crash Could Hurt Recovery in Asia

Although the aircraft in question was not part of the troubled Boeing 737 MAX family and did not have the same hardware installed, analysts are concerned that the crash could stall Boeing’s post-pandemic recovery in China and throughout Asia. According to Reuters, the company is still waiting to deliver over 140 737 MAX aircraft to Chinese airline customers. The 737 MAX has not yet been approved for operations by the Civil Aviation Authority of China.