THE country’s aviation regulator has not released an annual update on its investigation into a deadly China Eastern Airlines crash for the second year in a row, letting the fourth anniversary pass without providing any insight into the cause.
On March 21, 2022, a China Eastern Boeing 737-800 jet plunged into a hillside in the south- western region of Guangxi about an hour after take-off, killing all 132 people on board in China’s deadliest air disaster in three decades.
Global aviation guidelines call for an initial report within 30 days of an accident and a final one ideally within a year so that the industry can learn lessons from what went wrong and work to improve safety.
Failing that, investigators are expected to issue statements on each anniversary, but the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last provided an update in March 2024 and victims’ relatives remain in the dark about what caused the plane to nosedive from cruising altitude rather than land in Guangzhou as planned.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a global airline body, in March issued its 2025 safety report, which reminded carriers of their obligation to file final reports.
“Accident investigation helps us improve safety, but many reports are not published in a timely, complete, or accessible way. Some are not made public while others lack clear recommendations,” IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement.
“While compliance with this obligation is improving, anything less than 100% shortchanges everyone on opportunities to improve.” — Reuters
