A China Eastern Boeing 737 aircraft crashed near the city of Wuzhou in Guangxi province in China on 21st March 2022. China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) reported that there were 123 passengers on board with 9 crew members.
Videos were making rounds on social media showing the plane, nose-diving into the forest, causing a fire. According to reports, the rescue crew was sent to put out the fire and look for survivors.
Are There Any Survivors in Boeing 737 Crash?
As per initial reports, there were no survivors. The airline told the media that it was mourning the loss of passengers and flight crew but did not specify the number of persons killed in the Boeing 737 crash.
CAAC said that it lost contact with the 6 years old aircraft over Wuzhou while flying from Kunming to Guangzhou, which borders Hong Kong. A flight tracker noted that it lost speed very fast before descending sharply at 31,000 feet per minute.
China Eastern claimed that there were no foreigners on the flight and provided a hotline for the loved ones of everyone on board.
What Has the Reaction Been?
The recent Boeing 737 crash has intensified the criticism of this once-iconic aircraft manufacturing company. The tragedy reminded people of the 2019 incidents, where two Boeing flights crashed within 5 months, killing 346 people. Both Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 involved the Boeing 737 MAX which was later grounded for 20 months and remained under severe backlash. The incidents opened up investigations revealing how Boeing neglected serious component failures to beat Airbus in the capitalistic market. A documentary titled Downfall: The Case Against Boeing on Netflix provides the case study in detail.
Boeing has also reportedly grounded its fleet of 737-800 jetliners.
A Stain on China’s Air Safety Record
China Eastern’s Boeing 737 crash messed up the near-perfect air safety record of the country airline industry. It has been considered among the best in the world over the last 10 years. Some of the major accidents in the past include 1994 China Northwest Airlines Tupolev-154 in Xian that killed 160 people. Another one happened in 2010 when Henan Airlines’ regional jet Embraer E-190 crashed on arrival at Yichun airport, killing 44 people out of 96 onboard.
