Probe into flight MU5735 crash still undergoing

The investigation of a crashed airplane is still in the process due to the complexity and uniqueness of the accident, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said ahead of the first anniversary of the tragedy on Monday.

Flight MU5735 was bound from Kunming, Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on March 21 last year, when it crashed in a mountainous region in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, claiming the lives of all 132 people on board.

The accident ended a national safety flight record of over 11 years on the Chinese mainland.

Tuesday will mark the first anniversary of the accident.

The technical investigation team has carried out a lot of work such as site investigation, data inspection, personnel interview and experimental analysis, according to the administration.

The administration, in accordance with domestic and international regulations, has carried out an in-depth, meticulous and rigorous technical investigation of the accident with other parties involved in the airplane's manufacture and operation. The plane was a Boeing 737-800.

Over the past year, the technical investigation team conducted a detailed inspection of the aircraft wreckage to determine the possible working state of the aircraft's key control components before the crash, and carried out experiments on more than 100 important pieces of debris to analyze the causes of damage.

The team also carried out inspections into the qualifications and abilities of crew members, flight operation, airworthiness maintenance of aircraft, as well as the airline company's management.

Other investigations have also been carried out including air traffic control services, airport ground support, and the security check of passengers, luggage and cargoes.

Combined with the relevant data, the flight state of the aircraft in the final stage was analyzed, and the flight simulator and real aircraft were used for simulation and verification.

The investigation team will continue to carry out cause analysis and experimental verification based on the previous work, and timely release relevant information according to the progress of the investigation, the administration said.