US accident investigators have flown to China to help authorities there probe last month’s deadly crash of a Boeing jetliner.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the team departed for China on Friday to participate in the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s investigation of the crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 in which all 132 people on board were killed.
As part of that assistance, the plane’s cockpit voice recorder is being downloaded and analyzed at a US lab in Washington, federal officials said Friday.
Investigators hope the recording will explain why the plane went into a nosedive from about 8,800 meters (29,000 feet) over a mountainous region in southeastern China.
The impact caused by the crash in China created a 20-meter- (65-foot-) deep crater, set off a fire in the surrounding forest, and smashed the plane into small parts scattered over a wide area, some of them buried underground. More than 49,000 pieces of debris have been recovered, along with some human remains and personal items.
A Chinese aviation safety official said a preliminary investigation report would be completed within 30 days of the March 21 crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the team departed for China on Friday to participate in the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s investigation of the crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 in which all 132 people on board were killed.
As part of that assistance, the plane’s cockpit voice recorder is being downloaded and analyzed at a US lab in Washington, federal officials said Friday.
Investigators hope the recording will explain why the plane went into a nosedive from about 8,800 meters (29,000 feet) over a mountainous region in southeastern China.
The impact caused by the crash in China created a 20-meter- (65-foot-) deep crater, set off a fire in the surrounding forest, and smashed the plane into small parts scattered over a wide area, some of them buried underground. More than 49,000 pieces of debris have been recovered, along with some human remains and personal items.
A Chinese aviation safety official said a preliminary investigation report would be completed within 30 days of the March 21 crash.
