Overview
- The National Transportation Safety Board published nearly 2,000 pages that reconstruct the March 2022 crash of China Eastern Flight 5735 and the final minutes of flight.
- Flight‑data show both engine fuel control switches were moved to off, the autopilot was disengaged, and a control column was pushed forward, initiating a steep descent.
- Those switches are physical levers that cut fuel to the engines, and on a Boeing 737 they must be lifted to reach the off position, which signals a human action in the cockpit.
- The aircraft then plunged near vertically at more than 1,000 kilometers per hour and disintegrated on impact near Wuzhou, with a site video and Flightradar24 data matching the near‑vertical drop.
- Data also record aileron movements during the fall that suggest at least one person tried to regain control, yet the cockpit voice recordings remain withheld and China’s regulator has not issued a full report, citing national security and social stability, leaving families without answers and renewing calls from industry groups for timely, transparent findings.