Overview
- Newly released NTSB records from the jet’s flight data recorder show both engine fuel switches moved from run to cutoff during cruise, followed by falling engine speeds.
- On a Boeing 737, a pilot must lift each fuel lever before moving it to cutoff, which experts say makes an accidental shutdown unlikely.
- Control inputs logged in the descent include a steep nose-down command, a full 360-degree roll, and back-and-forth wheel movements that experts interpret as signs of a cockpit struggle.
- The flight data recorder stopped at about 26,000 feet after generators lost power, while the cockpit voice recorder likely kept working but its contents have not been released by Chinese authorities.
- Four years after the March 2022 crash that killed 132 people, China has not issued a final report, leaving families without answers and reviving debate over pilot mental health and investigative transparency.