Search crews have found the second of two flight recorders from a passenger plane that abruptly plunged to earth in southern China, killing 132 people, officials said on Sunday, nearly a week after the disaster. Flight recorders, which collect crucial information, including the pilots’ communications and data on the plane’s engines and performance, could help explain why China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 lost more than 20,000 feet in altitude in just over a minute before crashing into a hillside in the region of Guangxi. Searchers have been digging into the muddy earth to look for evidence, and a team dug the second recorder from the hillside, after spotting a telltale flash of orange from its case, Zheng Xi, a firefighting official helping to oversee the search, told a news conference. “The other parts of the recorder have been badly damaged, but the exterior of the data storage unit appears quite OK,” Zhu Tao, an aviation safety official from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told the news conference. Aviation officials and experts have warned that both recorders could be badly damaged from the crash, which would make it more difficult to retrieve their data. Search crews are also trying to recover debris from the plane, which could take weeks, if not longer. The recovery of structural parts could help investigators determine how the plane broke apart by using metallurgical analysis, Mike Daniel, an industry consultant and former accident investigator for the FAA, said. “They should piece as many parts as possible to try to reconstruct the aircraft,” he said, though he acknowledged that a full reconstruction would be “nearly impossible” given the impact with which the plane hit the ground.<br/>
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The recovery of the second black box from the wreckage of a China Eastern Airlines Corp jet potentially gives investigators their best opportunity to find out why the plane carrying 132 people entered a high-altitude nosedive and speared into the ground. The flight data recorder, which was buried about 40m from the main crash site near Wuzhou in southern China, was unearthed on Sunday (March 27) morning. State media reported the device has been sent to Beijing for analysis. Much now depends on how well the black box withstood the impact of the March 21 crash. The Boeing Co 737-800 NG appears to have largely disintegrated, and more than 33,700 pieces of debris have been recovered. Chinese state media said the crash left a crater 20m deep. Some parts of the data recorder were severely damaged, according to the CAAC, possibly complicating the task of retrieving and deciphering any information inside. The box can store hundreds of flight parameters - from speed and altitude to flap positioning and heading - that help investigators recreate the final fateful moments before a crash.<br/>
Chinese authorities officially confirmed Saturday that there were no survivors in the crash of a China Eastern 737-800 earlier this week with 132 people on board. The announcement by an official of the CAAC at a late-night news conference was followed by a brief moment of silence. Investigators have identified 120 of the victims through DNA analysis, state media reported. The flight from the city of Kunming in southwestern China was flying at 29,000 feet on Monday when it suddenly nose-dived into a mountainous area, shortly before it would have started its descent to the airport in Guangzhou, a provincial capital and export manufacturing hub near Hong Kong on China’s southeastern coast. Construction excavators dug into the crash site Saturday in the search for wreckage, remains and the second black box. Searchers found the cockpit voice recorder on Wednesday but have not found the flight data recorder. Workers wearing knee-high rubber boots used shovels and other hand tools to sift through the earthen slopes in a 65-foot-deep pit left by the plane. Debris and other items were collected in dozens of rectangular, mud-stained plastic containers. Pumps were used to drain water as muddy conditions in the rainy region hampered the search. One excavator stopped working after getting partially stuck, state broadcaster CCTV said. The cause of the crash remained a mystery. An air traffic controller tried to contact the pilots several times after seeing the plane’s altitude drop sharply but got no reply, officials have said. Authorities said that forensic and criminal investigation experts had confirmed the identities of 114 passengers and six crew members.<br/>
The head of the FAA said Friday he is confident the "root cause" will be determined regarding the crash of a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told CNBC that the investigation "requires us to not engage in speculation" in the cause. Dickson added that the 737 NG fleet, which includes the 800, "is one of the safest aircraft ever produced in commercial operation." Human remains and personal belongings of the 132 people on board have been found but no survivors. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday that Chinese authorities had invited the US NTSB to take part in the investigation, adding that he was very encouraged by the invitation to be on the ground in China. The NTSB, however, later said it had not yet determined if investigators would travel to China in light of visa and quarantine requirements.<br/>
Mexican airline Aeromexico has reached an agreement to rent nine Boeing planes, Air Lease Corporation said Friday, expanding the carrier's fleet as it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Air Lease will provide Aeromexico with two new 737-8s and seven new 737-9s, which will arrive between July 2022 and August 2023, the aircraft leasing company said. The deal comes after Aeromexico said last week it wouldspend $5b over the next five years on upgrades, including revamping its fleet to reach 147 aircraft by the end of the year. "The 737 offers the most modern, fuel-efficient technology to enhance the global capabilities of Mexico's premier airline," Air Lease Corporation Executive Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy said. Aeromexico declared bankruptcy in mid-2020 after travel demand plummeted following the coronavirus pandemic. The airline came to an agreement with debtors in a US court in January,and then it recently carried out a forward stock split and subsequent reverse split to shuffle company control, formalizing its exit from bankruptcy. <br/>