There are no clues as to the cause of the passenger plane crash two years ago, Chinese authorities explain

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

２年前の旅客機墜落、原因解明の手がかりなし　中国当局が説明

2024.03.22 Fri posted at 12:06 JST

香港（ＣＮＮ） 中国航空史上最悪となる１３２人の死者を出した２年前のボーイング７３７―８００型旅客機墜落事故について、中国民用航空局（ＣＡＡＣ）は２０日、これまでの調査結果を公表した。

中国民用航空局は今回も墜落原因には踏み込まず、原因解明の手がかりとなるブラックボックスのデータにも言及しなかった。これまでの調査結果と同様、出発前の機体にも乗員や天候にも問題は見つからなかったと強調している。

中国東方航空５７３５便は２０２２年３月２１日、中国南西部の雲南省昆明市から南東部の広東省広州市へ向かう途中で墜落した。

中国国内では墜落原因をめぐる臆測が飛び交い、ブラックボックスの情報が公表されない理由を問いかける声も出ている。

２２年４月の時点で中国民用航空局は、墜落機から回収した２個のブラックボックスは損傷が激しく、データ復旧と解析を進めているとしていた。

米紙ウォールストリート・ジャーナルが同年５月、米当局者の話として伝えたところによると、同機から回収されたブラックボックスのデータは米国家運輸安全委員会（ＮＴＳＢ）に送られ、解析の結果、コックピット内の人物が故意に墜落させたとの見方が浮上した。

一方、中国民用航空局は、同機の墜落が故意だったとの見方を否定。同年４月の記者会見で「そうしたうわさは重大な誤解を生じさせ、事故に対する調査を妨げてきた」と強調した。

調査は今後も継続される見通しだが、同機のシステムにも構造にもエンジンにも欠陥や異常はなかったとする今回の発表について、中国のＳＮＳでは批判が噴出。「何もかも正常だったとすれば、機内の誰かが故意にやったか、突然の不可抗力のどちらかだ」というコメントがトップに浮上している。

Translation

Hong Kong (CNN) The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) released the results of its investigation into the crash of a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane two years ago that killed 132 people, the deadliest crash in Chinese aviation history.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China once again did not go into the cause of the crash, nor did it mention black box data that could provide clues to the cause. Consistent with previous investigations, the company stressed that no problems were found with the aircraft, its crew or the weather before it took off.

China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashed on March 21, 2022 while en route from Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, southeast China's Guangdong province.

There were speculation in China about the cause of the crash, with some asking why the information from the black box had not been made public.

As of April 2022, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said that the two black boxes recovered from the crashed plane were severely damaged and that data recovery and analysis were underway.

In May of the same year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a US official, that the data from the black box recovered from the plane was sent to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and as a result of analysis, it was believed that someone in the cockpit caused the crash intentionally.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Administration of China denied that the crash of the plane was intentional. At a press conference in April of the same year, it was emphasized that `Such rumors have caused serious misunderstandings and have hindered the investigation into the accident.''

The investigation was expected to continue, but the announcement that there were no defects or abnormalities in the plane's systems, structure, or engine sparked criticism on Chinese social media. The top comment was ``Assuming everything was normal, either someone on the plane did it intentionally or it was a sudden force majeure.''

So, CAAC releases the results of its investigation into the crash of a Boeing 737-800 passenger plane happened two years ago and says that there were no problems with the aircraft, the crew or the weather before it took off. Many people in the Chinese social media comment that ``Assuming everything was normal, either someone on the plane did it intentionally or it was a sudden force majeure''. What do you think?