A year later, the crash of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 is still heart-wrenching. Recently, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued an accident investigation notice, which, although not much, revealed important information about the accident.
First, the report described the accident as "very complicated" and "extremely rare", suggesting that the investigation process had encountered great difficulties. In fact, this is not unexpected. The investigation of civil aviation accidents has always been a onerous task, especially when the cause and circumstances of the accident are not clear. Data from the past 30 years shows that only 1/4 of commercial aviation accidents can be investigated within a year.
The purpose of the investigation is to restore the state of the aircraft before the accident. In addition to the technical status of the aircraft, the status of the personnel on board, especially the flight personnel, is also a key point of concern. The situation of flight MU5735 is relatively special. The aircraft slammed directly into the ground at extremely high speeds, and the wreckage was distributed to a depth of 20 meters, making it difficult to preserve many important structural components of the system. In this case, it becomes more difficult to determine the technical state of the aircraft prior to impact, which damage was caused by impact, and what may have occurred before impact.
The briefing also revealed clues about the source of the data on the last flight status of the aircraft. It is not clear whether the recorded data came from the black box, but if it is, it means that the data from the black box has been partially restored. At the same time, the investigation team conducted a detailed examination of the wreckage of the aircraft, and conducted experiments and analyses on more than 100 key wreckage. Despite the severity of the damage, the team worked to analyze the cause of the damage, using physical and chemical means, and possibly even referential experiments. This, coupled with the fact that the data in the black box may be incomplete, undoubtedly adds more challenges to the entire analysis process.
Investigators have not been left with many clues in such a complex air crash, and most of them are hidden in very fine, even powdered wreckage. This is also the reason why, a year on, it is not possible to provide an interim report with detailed information. But we have also seen that the Civil Aviation Administration of China has done a lot of investigation and forensics work, such as using flight simulators for simulation verification.
Whether it is an interim or final report, the civil aviation investigation agency will be very cautious when issuing the report, because every speculation and conclusion needs to be supported by detailed evidence. Without sufficient evidence and verification, any conclusion is untenable. It may seem slow for the public to come out of the report, but we need to understand that accident investigation is a highly technical and serious job that requires a lot of time and patience.
summary
: The investigation process of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 is difficult, but the Civil Aviation Administration of China is carrying out meticulous investigation work, hoping to bring a detailed report to the public as soon as possible. We look forward to learning the true cause of the accident and hope that such accidents will be avoided and provide more assurance for aviation safety.