The People’s Republic of China is covering up the crash of a China Eastern 737-800 jet, saying that revealing crash investigation details would endanger “national security and social stability.”
The Incredulous Reason China Won’t Reveal Details About Deadly China Eastern Boeing 737 Crash
On March 21, 2022 a China Eastern flight from Kunming (KMG) to Guangzhou (CAN) operated with a six-year-old Boeing 737-800 jet crashed. The circumstances around the crash were particularly odd as the plane seemed to enter a nosedive while at cruising altitude. All 123 passengers and nine crew members onboard died in the crash.
Two months later, US officials revealed a theory that the aircraft was deliberately crashed:
“The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit.”
China Eastern responded angrily to that theory, stating:
“Any unofficial speculation may interfere with the accident investigation and affect the real progress of the global air transport industry.”
But three years later, it seems that China, as with the COVID-19, has very little concern for any progress in the global air transport industry. Veteran aviation journalist Jon Ostrower shares that a disclosure request submitted to the Chinese government for more information on the progress of the investigation was denied by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
“Disclosure may endanger national security and social stability.”
Under Article 14 and Article 36(3) of the Regulations on the Disclosure of Government Information, this constitutes a valid reason to withhold information under Chinese law.
What Really Happened?
The leading assumption is that one or both of the pilots deliberately crashed the plane, much like the 2015 Germanwings 9525 incident. Other theories include:
- Hijacking by a separatist group Chinese authorities do not want to bring attention to
- The deliberate targeting of the aircraft (Yevgeny Prigozhin-style) due to a person of interest onboard
Both seem much more far-fetched than a pilot suicide mission.
A mechanical issue is far less likely because why would China avoid the chance to pin this disaster on Boeing if it could?
Whatever happened, it is shameful that the Chinese government is covering this up and I hope that the cover-up becomes a bigger story than the crash itself, such that China is forced to save face by sharing more details about the crash. After three years, I’m quite confident China knows exactly what happened.
It’s pure gaslighting in the typical Chinese way to lecture journalists about the safety of the global air transport industry, then set a dangerous precedent by refusing to reveal the details of the investigation.
As One Mile At A Time rightly points out, “It’s really hard to have faith in the safety of an aviation ecosystem when regulators aren’t even willing to be transparent about the cause of an accident…it is unconscionable that a government would actively cover up the results of an accident investigation, based on the fear that “disclosure may endanger national security and social stability.””
CONCLUSION
Disappointingly, China has chosen to cover up its investigation of the 2022 China Eastern 737-800 crash. However, the act of obscuring the investigation only highlights the crash and undermines global trust in China and in the Chinese aviation system.
In China, the truth is erased and human life is expendable. Just google Tiananmen Square Massacre…
Let’s hope the truth will come out on this particular crash.
> Read More: China Eastern 737-800 Crashes
> Read More: U.S. Officials Believe China Eastern 737 Crash Was Intentional
image: Dennis HKG / Flickr
They crashed it to kill Eric Swallwell’s spy girlfriend.
It must have been because if DEI. I bet they had non-white male pilots. Stupid fools.
” endangering national security and social stability” for covering up the truth. The people, are unimportant to these governments. Take note. Governments that hide investigation results should be denied international routes from their carriers.
+ 1 with an exclamation point !
The investigation is illegitimate because it was not done by the legal government but, rather, by separatist forces instead of the national government (of the Republic of China). The separatists illegally took power in 1949 but the legitimate government still exists on Taipei as the Republic of China.
What do you expect when a bunch of hoodlums take control of an area? Do you expect them to act legally?
The truth of the matter is Taiwan is civilized and the separatist area called the People’s Republic of China is savage. Just look how nice EVA Air and Starlux are compared to that crashed airline.
Nothing anyone should be surprised about knowing China.
As for Tiananmen Square, not a great analogy as let’s face it, those clowns knew exactly what was going to happen with their “protest”. These were all or almost all innocent people on a plane not expecting to risk their lives.
An obvious case of pilot suicide, and until I hear a plausible alternative explanation I won’t be changing my mind.
This article is filled with anti-China bias. How about just reporting facts?
What is it that you objected to? Do you defend China shielding the results of the investigation?