Newly released U.S. investigative data indicate that the 2022 crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 may have been precipitated by a deliberate shutdown of both engines in flight.
According to material from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, fuel control switches for both engines were moved from the “run” to “cutoff” position while the aircraft was cruising at approximately 29,000 feet.
The flight, China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735, crashed into mountainous terrain in southern China in March 2022, killing all 132 people aboard. It remains the country’s deadliest aviation accident in decades.
The newly disclosed information comes from the aircraft’s flight data recorder, recovered from the wreckage and analyzed in the U.S. due to the aircraft’s Boeing origin. The data show both engine fuel switches were moved nearly simultaneously—an action that requires deliberate pilot input on the 737.
While the findings stop short of assigning cause, they reinforce earlier speculation that the aircraft’s abrupt dive was not the result of a mechanical failure. Previous statements from Chinese investigators indicated no anomalies were found in the airplane’s systems or structure.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which is leading the investigation, has yet to release a final accident report and has provided limited public updates in the years since the crash.
The NTSB emphasized that it is not the lead investigative authority and that any final determination of cause rests with Chinese officials.
The NTSB lab did an incredible job recovering data. It is curious in the narrative why Chinese investigators ever applied power to try a recovery of these damaged recorders.
What is further curious is why the NTSB did not retain CVR recordings or if they assisted with transcription. By this I mean: did ICAO Annex 13 permit the NTSB to retain such information? Or was it a special negotiation.
Lastly, is the president of China really the one running the investigation, as some media reports suggested. That sounds weird.
It’s inexplicable and illogical for China’s aviation investigation agency, if it exists, not issuing a conclusive report as most nations adhere to fact finding leading to a likely explanation of a crash involving commercial aircraft. Being accustomed to NTSB reports issued as long as two years after a crash from exhaustive fact gathering and analysis from many disciplines, Boeing’s formal involvement in retrieving data from its FDR and interpretation appears to be at least one reason for the crash. There’s one NTSB report about an Egypt Air flight crash pointing to both pilots at the controls, one pulling while the other pushing the flight yoke with voice records until crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. Egypt refused to point blame to the pilot pushing his flight control downward while shouting Allah.
“The NTSB emphasized that it is not the lead investigative authority and that any final determination of cause rests with Chinese officials”… My question is why the NTSB would act as if there could possibly be any other CAUSE of the crash if they are certain the engines were cut off simultaneously by deferring to the Chinese for final determination. Why would they use such language. Are they being directed by Boeing to appease their big Chinese customer to prevent being cut off for telling the truth? Can these aircraft fly happily along over the mountains without running engines? Can the engine cutoff switches turn off all by themselves? Can the NTSB truly be impartial if Boeing is drafting their language?? Or is what they mean that they have no idea WHY the pilot cutoff the engines? But that wouldn’t be an NTSB concern, so why the language?