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China Eastern MU5735 737-800 [not MAX] Crashed 21 March 2022, 132 onboard

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Old Mar 21, 2022, 4:38 am
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China Eastern MU5735 737-800 [not MAX] Crashed 21 March 2022, 132 onboard

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Old Apr 12, 2022, 7:27 pm
  #181  
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Originally Posted by LarryJ
That is inconsistent with my understanding of physics.

"g" is an acceleration; positive vs. negative is just the direction of the acceleration. To maintain a negative g-load, you have be accelerating downward the entire time. When you stop accelerating, you no longer at negative-g and objects are no longer pinned to the ceiling.

Additionally, you can't produce negative g-loads on the autopilot. It doesn't act that aggressively.
From the time/altitude marks in the video, it looks like the plane dropped almost 22,000 feet in only 72 seconds. Would gravity and engine thrust at cruise settings alone do that, or would it require an increase in the normal thrust at that stage of the flight?
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 7:55 pm
  #182  
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Originally Posted by percysmith
A Chinese aviation expert (Wang Lizhen) hypothesised if one of the pilots put the plane into a steep dive while the plane was on autopilot and the other two pilots are unprepared, the g-force could have pushed the other two pilots to the back of the cockpit, thus unable to intervene in the suicide attempt
So rehashing what has been posted here and/or AV Herald.

Now from reading about aviation in China, it's .... er, different.

But I was under the impression that at least in western countries, pilots pretty much always wear a seatbelt unless taking a break (maybe our resident pilot can chime in).
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 8:14 pm
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Originally Posted by dhuey
From the time/altitude marks in the video, it looks like the plane dropped almost 22,000 feet in only 72 seconds. Would gravity and engine thrust at cruise settings alone do that, or would it require an increase in the normal thrust at that stage of the flight?
You'd need to do the math for that rate of descent.

I do not believe that the airplane can do with in normal flight. The wing would have to be stalled. That's not based on any calculations, just my experience flying the airplane.

Again, I don't understand why everyone is focusing on an intentional act. That's possible, but there's nothing in what we know so far which suggests it is likely.

Originally Posted by EmailKid
But I was under the impression that at least in western countries, pilots pretty much always wear a seatbelt unless taking a break (maybe our resident pilot can chime in).
We are required by regulation to use the seatbelt whenever we are seated in our control seat.
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 8:21 pm
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Originally Posted by LarryJ
Again, I don't understand why everyone is focusing on an intentional act. That's possible, but there's nothing in what we know so far which suggests it is likely.
Because the alternative is quite frightening. I'm still leaning towards pilot suicide.
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 8:25 pm
  #185  
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Originally Posted by Sandeep1
Because the alternative is quite frightening. I'm still leaning towards pilot suicide.

but the alternative is still a one-off event and easier to address some of the factors by engineering brains
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 8:28 pm
  #186  
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Originally Posted by LarryJ
Again, I don't understand why everyone is focusing on an intentional act. That's possible, but there's nothing in what we know so far which suggests it is likely.
Your guess is probably going to prove better than mine, but I'm struck by the nearly straight-down trajectory, and so suddenly. A momentary leveling off, and then straight down again. Of course I don't know anything about these things, but it all seems like one pilot (or someone else at one of the controls) pointing the plane straight down, and a struggle for control in the cockpit.

Regardless, I would imagine one of the two recorders will soon rule the above possibility in or out.
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 8:59 pm
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Originally Posted by dhuey
Your guess is probably going to prove better than mine, but I'm struck by the nearly straight-down trajectory, and so suddenly. A momentary leveling off, and then straight down again. Of course I don't know anything about these things, but it all seems like one pilot (or someone else at one of the controls) pointing the plane straight down, and a struggle for control in the cockpit.

Regardless, I would imagine one of the two recorders will soon rule the above possibility in or out.
Same.

Originally Posted by Lomapaseo
but the alternative is still a one-off event and easier to address some of the factors by engineering brains
Maybe but not at the moment given that nothing is known. These planes are still in the air flying as if nothing happened.
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 9:07 pm
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Originally Posted by Sandeep1
Because the alternative is quite frightening. I'm still leaning towards pilot suicide.
The lack of comfort with the alternatives does not increase the likelihood of your preferred explanation. Look at the data. As of today, there isn't enough information to draw conclusions.

I have a few theories of my own but they, similarly, do not have anything yet to back them up so I keep them to myself.

Originally Posted by dhuey
Your guess is probably going to prove better than mine, but I'm struck by the nearly straight-down trajectory, and so suddenly. A momentary leveling off, and then straight down again.
The "nearly straight down" final attitude is not consistent with an intentional act. Airplanes don't respond to control inputs in the way you imagine. Pushing the nose over doesn't produce the fastest descent rate.

What little we know of the flight profile is consistent with a high-altitude upset, followed by a recovery attempt which induced a secondary stall. The question is, what caused the upset? It could be many things including mechanical failure, human factors, or an intentional act and probably some others. Speculation of sensational theories is not productive.
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 9:15 pm
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Originally Posted by Sandeep1
These planes are still in the air flying as if nothing happened.
The 737 NG line has been flying for 25 years with over 7,100 airplanes delivered. It is part of the 737 line which has been in service for over 50 years with around 11,000 airplanes delivered. The accident airplane was relatively new, built in 2015. There is no evidence at this time that there is anything wrong with the design that was a causal factor in this accident.

Why would you expect the fleet to be grounded?
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 9:16 pm
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Originally Posted by LarryJ
What little we know of the flight profile is consistent with a high-altitude upset, followed by a recovery attempt which induced a secondary stall. The question is, what caused the upset? It could be many things including mechanical failure, human factors, or an intentional act and probably some others. Speculation of sensational theories is not productive.
This is FT Omni and regulatory bodies aren't consulting this thread for help in their investigation. So I'd say speculation is just fine.

Originally Posted by LarryJ
The 737 NG line has been flying for 25 years with over 7,100 airplanes delivered. It is part of the 737 line which has been in service for over 50 years with around 11,000 airplanes delivered. The accident airplane was relatively new, built in 2015. There is no evidence at this time that there is anything wrong with the design that was a causal factor in this accident.

Why would you expect the fleet to be grounded?
I have no expectations.
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Old Apr 12, 2022, 9:24 pm
  #191  
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Originally Posted by LarryJ
The "nearly straight down" final attitude is not consistent with an intentional act. Airplanes don't respond to control inputs in the way you imagine. Pushing the nose over doesn't produce the fastest descent rate.

What little we know of the flight profile is consistent with a high-altitude upset, followed by a recovery attempt which induced a secondary stall. The question is, what caused the upset? It could be many things including mechanical failure, human factors, or an intentional act and probably some others. Speculation of sensational theories is not productive.
This all sounds very reasonable, and if I had to bet, I'd bet on your guess, not mine.
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Old Apr 13, 2022, 1:11 pm
  #192  
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Originally Posted by LarryJ
The "nearly straight down" final attitude is not consistent with an intentional act. Airplanes don't respond to control inputs in the way you imagine. Pushing the nose over doesn't produce the fastest descent rate.
BTW, the main reason for my guess of intentional act is how much this reminded me of the Egypt Air 990 crash.



Isn't the sudden dive, brief recovery, and dive to the water/ground very similar to that of this China Eastern flight?
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Old Apr 13, 2022, 3:40 pm
  #193  
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Egypt air is interesting but premature in its support for only a theory about this accident. I hesitate to assume the same profile in this B737 event without more investigative facts which I am sure they are sitting on.
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Old Apr 13, 2022, 8:04 pm
  #194  
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Originally Posted by Lomapaseo
Egypt air is interesting but premature in its support for only a theory about this accident. I hesitate to assume the same profile in this B737 event without more investigative facts which I am sure they are sitting on.
To be clear, I'm not assuming the same profile for both flights. They seem to have similarities, but I have no expertise in this area, and I might be overlooking important differences.
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Old Apr 13, 2022, 9:37 pm
  #195  
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Originally Posted by dhuey
To be clear, I'm not assuming the same profile for both flights. They seem to have similarities, but I have no expertise in this area, and I might be overlooking important differences.
Fair enough and I didn't mean to be poster specific

But the major job of the investigators is to resolve any possible difference with or without the black boxes. This is what Tin-kicking is all about
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