Black box that could unlock mystery of Boeing 737 crash in China is found among jet debris

A BLACK box that could unlock the mystery of the Boeing 737 crash in China has today been found. Mao Yanfeng, the director of the accident investigation division of the Civil Aviation Authority of China, said efforts are underway to find the other black box in the debris. The plane can be seen plummeting vertically to the ground TwitterSmoke can be seen coming from the scene near the city of Wuzhou[/caption] The plane plummeted in about two minutes of terror AlamyPictures from the crash site show fallen trees and debris scattered everywhere[/caption] Not known, clear with picture deskSatellite imagery shows the charred crater the plane left after it plummeted into the ground[/caption] But the black box – one of two – is so damaged that investigators can’t tell whether it is the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder. Horrifying footage showed the Boeing 737 jet’s final seconds after it plunged 100ft in around minute and a half. The passenger jet flown by China Eastern Airlines came down in Guangxi, China, on Monday, state media said. It was heading to Guangzhou from Kunming and was carrying nine crew members and 123 passengers. READ MORE ON WORLD TIPPING POINT Live Ukraine updates as Putin's starving & frostbite-ravaged troops RETREAT STAUNCH REBUTTAL Ukraine REJECTS Russia's chilling ultimatum to surrender city of Mariupol Broadcaster CCTV said the six-year-old 737 came down near the city of Wuzhou and sparked a wildfire on the mountain. Rescuers raced to the scene and found debris strewn over a large area with no evidence of survivors. Harrowing images show large pieces of the jet scattered on the ground while a blaze can be seen in the background. The China Eastern flight departed at 1:11 pm (0511 GMT), FlightRadar24 data showed and had been due to land at 3:05 p.m. (0705 GMT). 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Crashes during the cruise phase of flight are relatively rare even though it accounts for the majority of flight time. “Usually the plane is on auto-pilot during cruise stage. So it is very hard to fathom what happened,” said Li Xiaojin, a Chinese aviation expert. They added: “From a technical point of view, something like this should not have happened.” While aviation expert Arthur Rowe said: “It looks most likely a loss of control event, possibly following a high altitude stall of the aircraft. “There are multiple possible causes. Jammed or unresponsive control surfaces, especially on the tail are one. “An inappropriate combination of autopilot settings is another. “Sabotage – that’s probably unlikely on a domestic Chinese flight given the Covid restrictions on entering the country. “It’s unlikely to be engine related as aircraft can fly perfectly well with no engine power – for a limited time.” Engineering professor Tao Yang of Nottingham University, said: “The plane was completely out of control and at this stage it is very difficult to say what has happened.” The plane stopped transmitting data just southwest of the Chinese city of Wuzhou. A villager surnamed Liu told state-run China News Service that he had driven a motorbike to the scene after hearing a loud explosion. He said he saw debris on the ground, including an aircraft wing and fragments of clothing hanging from trees. The website of China Eastern Airlines was later presented in black and white, which airlines do in response to a crash as a sign of respect for the assumed victims. Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was “shocked” by the crash and called for an investigation into the accident, state media reported. “We are shocked to learn of the China Eastern MU5735 accident,” he said according to broadcaster CCTV, while he also called for “all efforts” towards the rescue and to find out the “cause of the accident as soon as possible”. The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern from Boeing in June 2015 and had been flying for over six years. The 737-800 model that crashed on Monday has a good safety record and is the predecessor to the 737 MAX model that has been grounded in China for more than three years following fatal crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia that killed 346 people. The Boeing 737 Max resumed commercial service back in 2020 after a 20-month safety ban was lifted following the crashes. The safety record of China’s airline industry has been among the best in the world over the past decade. Read More on The Sun GOLD-PLATED MONSTER Inside Putin's £500m superyacht with cinema & GOLD toilet roll holder he's no scrumbag Why Ben Foden will never cheat on me like he did with ex Una Healy According to Aviation Safety Network, China’s last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people on board were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility. In 1994, a China Northwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 flying from Xian to Guangzhou was destroyed in an accident after take off, killing all 160 people on board and ranking as China’s worst-ever air disaster, according to Aviation Safety Network. ViralPressRescuers are at the scene while the number of casualties is unknown[/caption] Twitter TwitterPieces of the plane can be on the ground after the crash in Guangxi, China[/caption] ViralPressFlight tracker data showed made a steep vertical dive before crashing into the mountain[/caption] Alec Wilson / Triangle NewsAn image of the Boeing 737 before the crash[/caption]