China Eastern's Boeing 737 crashes with 132 people on board

(Bloomberg) — A Boeing Co. 737-800 NG aircraft operated by China Eastern Airlines Corp. crashed Monday in the southwestern Chinese province of Guangxi.

The aircraft, which was traveling with 132 people on board, 123 passengers and 9 crew members, crashed in a mountainous area near the city of Wuzhou, according to the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration.

China Eastern reported that, starting Tuesday, it will ground all its Boeing 737-800 aircraft. An emergency hotline was set up for family members, and the company expressed its condolences to passengers and crew members.

China Eastern's website, mobile app and some of China Eastern's social media platforms were shown in black and white in mourning.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged rescue efforts after the accident, state television reported.

The plane was traveling from Kunming, in Yunnan province, to the Guangzhou manufacturing center, as reported by FlightRadar24.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it is aware of reports of the accident and is ready to assist in investigative efforts, if requested.

The crashed Boeing 737-800 NG model is considered one of the safest aircraft ever made. The single-aisle aircraft is part of the NG era, or Next Generation, which preceded the 737 Max, whose flights were suspended after two fatal accidents.

The NG has one of the best safety records among all aircraft, with only 11 fatal accidents out of the more than 7,000 aircraft delivered since 1997, according to aviation consultancy Cirium. The China Eastern plane involved was about six years and 10 months old, according to FlightRadar.

“I wouldn't expect today's accident to have anything to do with Max's return to service in China,” said aerospace industry analyst John Strickland.

China Eastern will suspend all its Boeing 737-800 passenger flights starting Tuesday, Chinese media outlet Yicai reported, citing sources. The airline has 102 aircraft of this model.

There are 4,502 Boeing 737-800 NGs in service worldwide, including 950 in the United States, according to Cirium, an aviation data and consulting company.

The accident comes at a bad time for Boeing, which is preparing for the reinstatement of its 737 Max into commercial service in the country, a lucrative aviation market. Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that Boeing had brought a Max to its completion and delivery center in Zhoushan, China, for the first time since the model gained recertification.

China was the first major aviation market to land Max three years ago, following the second of two fatal accidents in which 346 people died in total, and one of the last to resume flights. The market is so large that Boeing's plan to continue to increase production depends on the resumption of deliveries to China.

The plane involved in Monday's crash was not a new generation Boeing Max.

The US aircraft manufacturer is currently collecting more information about the accident that occurred in southwestern China, according to state-owned broadcaster CCTV, citing company personnel.

Original Note:

China Plane Crash Update: Airline to Ground Boeing 737-800 Jets

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