Pilot of doomed Chinese flight ‘may have regained consciousness and tried to save the plane’ before the Boeing 737-800 slammed into mountainside killing all 132 onboard, expert says, as desperate families continue to wait for news
China Eastern plane smashed into countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region, and 'caused a mountain fire'
An expert said the pilot may have 'regained consciousness' in a last ditch attempt to save the plunging plane
It was confirmed late Monday all 132 people on board, among them 123 passengers and nine crew, have died
Shocking CCTV emerged on social media showing jet racing vertically towards the ground on Monday
By Elmira Tanatarova and James Gant and Lauren Lewis For Mailonline
Published: 18:14 EDT, 21 March 2022 | Updated: 23:27 EDT, 21 March 2022
Desperate families are waiting for news after a Chinese Boeing 737-800 smashed into a mountainside, killing all 132 on board, as experts say the pilot 'may have regained consciousness' after G-forces knocked out the crew 'and tried to save the plunging plane'.
China Eastern has grounded all of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft today after 132 people died when their passenger jet crashed in China this morning after suddenly nose-diving and plummeting 30,000ft in two minutes and hitting the ground at 350mph.
However, more than 18 hours after communication was lost with the plane, families of the passengers and crew members were left waiting to hear more information about the disaster.
Local villagers were the first to arrive at the crash site on Monday, where the aircraft sparked a fire large enough to be captured on NASA satellite images.
Hundreds of rescue workers were subsequently dispatched from Guangxi and the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Relatives of crew members have also arrived at a China Eastern office near the Kunming airport where the plane took off, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The broadcaster says China Eastern has set up nine teams to deal with disposal of the plane, accident investigation, family assistance and other pressing issues.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and China Eastern both say they have sent officials to the crash site.
State media reported all 737-800s in the airline's fleet were ordered grounded following the crash. The model is the predecessor to the controversial 737 Max model but is regarded as safe despite a series of crashes over its long history.
Speaking to The Sun Online, aviation expert Sally Gethin said flight data suggests there was a "10 to 20-second spell where one or more of the pilots regained consciousness and tried to save the plane" before it smashed inthe the ground.
All of those on board "would have been unconscious" for this final plunge, Gethin suggests.
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