US media reported that the China Eastern Airlines passenger plane that crashed in March was deliberately shot down by a person in the cockpit. Officials in China, who said that the investigation is still ongoing, have not yet made a statement.
Boeing 737-800 type passenger plane crashed between the cities of Kunming and Guangju in southern China, 132 passengers and crew were not survivors.
According to the preliminary assessment made by the American authorities, experts have not detected a mechanical or technical malfunction in the aircraft so far.
The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, wrote that the plane’s “black box”, or flight records, that was recovered from the wreckage, indicated that someone had ordered the plane to dive close to a right angle. The news was based on a “source with knowledge” of the assessment by US aviation officials.
ABC News also quoted the US authorities as saying that the plane was shot down deliberately.
According to the news of the Reuters news agency, based on two people familiar with the investigation, experts who could not find any evidence of a technical malfunction are examining the possibility that the plane was shot down deliberately.
China Eastern Airlines previously announced that all three pilots on the plane were healthy and trained personnel.
The airline said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that there was no information that any of the pilots were in financial trouble.
China Eastern did not answer the BBC’s questions about the latest developments.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which is investigating the crashed plane, did not respond to the BBC’s questions.
CAAC made a statement last month, stressing that reports that the plane may have been deliberately shot down “severely misinformed the public” and were “an interference with the investigation into the accident”.
Experts are still reviewing the flight data and debris, according to the Chinese state media outlet Global Times, with CAAC continuing its “scientific, rigorous and regular investigation” into the crash.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington, the US National Transportation Security Administration, and the Boeing company that produced the plane declined to comment in the Wall Street Journal, in accordance with the rules of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization.
“Under accident investigation rules, only the agency can make a statement about an ongoing aviation accident investigation,” a Boeing spokesperson told the BBC. The company says it is cooperating with the Chinese authorities and the US National Transportation Safety Administration on the investigation into the accident.
Airlines in China generally have a good track record in terms of safety. The last major accident involving a Chinese passenger plane occurred 12 years ago.
The crashed plane of China Eastern Airlines was not yet in its seventh year in service.
