Tag: Guangxi (China)

After Fanning Covid Fears, China Must Now Try to Allay Them

Chin@Strategy

For nearly three years, the Chinese government deployed its considerable propaganda apparatus to fan fears about Covid to justify large-scale quarantines, frequent mass testing and the tracking of more than a billion people. As the authorities now shift their approach to the pandemic, they face the task of downplaying those fears. Until the past week, during which there were rallies voicing extraordinary public opposition to the stringent “zero Covid” rules, government officials and state media were still emphasizing the most ominous medical news about the pandemic. There were countless stories…

A Flight Over China in Clear Skies, Followed by a Nosedive

Chin@Strategy

BEIJING — China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 was at 29,100 feet in clear afternoon skies over the hills of southern China, seemingly ready for a smooth landing in Guangzhou. The plane, a Boeing 737-800 NG, was only seven years old. One of China’s most experienced aviators was among the three pilots in the cockpit. But then, at 2:20 p.m. on March 21, the aircraft plummeted. Air traffic controllers made frantic calls that went unanswered. The pilots sent no Mayday messages. The plane fell more than 20,000 feet in less than…

China Plane Crash: Second ‘Black Box’ Is Found, Officials Say

Chin@Strategy

Search crews have found the second of two flight recorders from a passenger plane that abruptly plunged to earth in southern China, killing 132 people, officials said on Sunday, nearly a week after the disaster. Flight recorders, which collect crucial information, including the pilots’ communications and data on the plane’s engines and performance, could help explain why China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 lost more than 20,000 feet in altitude in just over a minute before crashing into a hillside in the region of Guangxi. Chinese authorities confirmed on Saturday what…

China Eastern Pilots Were Experienced, Adding to Mystery of Crash

Chin@Strategy

The pilot of the China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed in southern China with 132 people aboard was an industry veteran with more than 6,000 hours of flying time. His co-pilot was even more experienced, having flown since the early days of China’s post-Mao era, training on everything from Soviet-model biplanes to newer Boeing models. Together, the men operating Flight 5735 had more than 39,000 hours of flying experience, the equivalent of four and a half years nonstop in the cockpit, adding to the mystery of why the plane plunged…

China Eastern Jet’s Steep Plunge Suggests Little Chance of Survival

Chin@Strategy

A day after a Boeing 737 plane crashed in southern China, hundreds of firefighters, police officers and paramilitary troops were combing the region’s lush hillsides for survivors. Orthopedic surgeons and burn specialists waited at nearby hospitals. Students lined up for blood donation drives, according to Chinese news reports on Tuesday. At the crash site, workers found burned identity cards, purses, cellphones and other belongings, news reports said. But the likelihood that any of the 132 people onboard the plane made it out alive appeared increasingly slim. The China Eastern Airlines…