Chinese officials allegedly suppressed vital information for four years about an apparent pilot suicide that led to the crash deaths of 132 people despite uncovering evidence of a cockpit struggle just weeks into their investigation. Findings from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board appear to confirm long-standing suspicions that China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was deliberately flown into mountainous terrain in the Asian country’s southern Guangxi province in March 2022. Newly published data from the agency suggests both of the Boeing 737’s engines were manually shut off and that the autopilot was disengaged before the seven-year-old jet was forced into a near-vertical descent. The data further reveals a violent struggle between the pilots for the controls, with recorded movements suggesting one of them fought to save the aircraft as another drove it downward. Beijing has long faced accusations of a cover-up, with China’s civil aviation authority previously warning that disclosures could “endanger national security and social stability.” No official finding assigning responsibility for the fatal crash has ever been released.
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