China report on plane that crashed with 132 on board leaves questions unanswered

China announced on Wednesday that it had completed the draft report on the crash of the plane that crashed a month ago, killing all 132 people on board.

The document, however, does not clarify the circumstances of the incident, which continues to intrigue experts due to the almost vertical position in which the aircraft fell and the high speed with which it lost altitude.

According to a statement from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the two black boxes remain seriously damaged, but are being analyzed by experts in search of answers to the causes of the crash. Data from the two devices was sent to Washington, USA, the agency said.

The report also indicates that the plane’s pilots did not respond to contact from flight controllers once the first change in route was identified.

According to CAAC, the last regular call between controllers and the aircraft took place at 2:16 pm local time. Less than five minutes later, the plane began to lose altitude. Air traffic control tried to make contact with the crew, but there was no response.

The plane was a six-year-old Boeing 737-800. Weather records indicate that there was cloudiness on the route traveled, but not to the point of impairing visibility.

Airspace monitoring website FlightRadar24 indicates the flight departed Kunming at 1:11 pm local time (2:11 am GMT) on March 21. It was supposed to land in Guangzhou about two hours later, but communication with the aircraft was lost at 2:22 pm (3:22 ​​am).

Shortly before, the plane was located at 29,100 feet (8,900 meters). Two minutes and 15 seconds later, the altitude dropped sharply to 9,075 feet (2,700 meters); another 20 seconds and the last record pointed to an altitude of 3,225 feet (about 983 meters) and a speed of 376 knots (approximately 700 km/h).

​Video posted on social media shows what Boeing would look like in an accelerated fall at an almost vertical tilt angle. The authenticity of the images has not been officially confirmed.

The 737-800 model has a good track record and is the predecessor to the 737 MAX model, which has been idle in China for more than three years after accidents in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia. The safety record of the Chinese airline industry has been among the best in the world over the past decade, but experts point to a lack of transparency in Chinese aviation, so minor incidents may be being underreported.