After years of no major air disasters, Monday 's crash of a China Eastern flight comes as a surprise. Since 2010, the country has never reported any crash involving a commercial flight that killed more than five people. Although the People's Liberation Army (the military wing of the ruling Communist Party) has also been involved in fatal crashes, few details are available.
CHINA EASTERN AERLINES CORP.
China Eastern, Air China, China Southern Airlines, and HNA Group are all state-owned carriers. The airline was founded in 1995 and is headquartered at Shanghai's Pudong international Airport. According to the airline's mid-2021 interim report, its fleet of 749 aircraft includes 291 Boeing 737-series aircraft. The majority of its employees are located in China, with a total of 79,913 people employed by the carrier. In the first half 2021, it carried 44.3 million passengers. China Eastern reported a loss in the first half 2021 of 5.4 billion Yuan ($850 million).
CHINA'S AIRLINE INDUSTRY
The government's attempt to eradicate COVID-19 has caused financial losses to carriers. It uses a "zero tolerance strategy" that bans most foreigners from China and suspends travel temporarily in major cities. According to Boeing Co., passenger numbers in China exceeded those of the United States for the first time in 2020. This was partly due to the fact that China's populous regions reopened domestic travel fairly quickly following the coronavirus outbreak. Boeing projects 5.4% annual traffic growth, and believes China should account for one-sixth future airline capacity.
All 737-800s belonging to China Eastern were reported by state media as being grounded. Experts in aviation say it is rare to ground a whole fleet of planes without evidence of a problem. China has nearly 1200 737-800s, more than any other country. If identical planes are grounded by other Chinese airlines, it could have a significant effect on domestic travel, according to IBA, an aviation consultant.
CHINA'S FINAL BIG CRASH
Henan Airlines' Embraer ERJ 190–100 aircraft carrying 96 passengers and crew crashed just short of the runway while landing in the northeastern Chinese city of Yichun on Aug. 24, 2010. After the fuel caught on fire, 44 people died in the crash. 52 survivors survived. Investigators blamed the pilot for landing in poor visibility at night, which led to an error.
China Eastern's fatal accident was November 2004 when a bombardier CRJ-200 crashed into a frozen lake after taking off from Baotou in Inner Mongolia. This killed 53 people and left two others on the ground. Regulators blamed the ice that had accumulated on the wings.
China Eastern and the Civil Aviation Administration of China have sent officials to the site. According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, a senior investigator was selected to assist, while the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (which certified the 737-880 in the 1990s) said that it is available to help if needed.
CHINA'S AIRCRAFT MARK
China is a key market for both Boeing and Airbus Industries, its European counterpart. They hope that Chinese carriers will drive U.S. and European sales flatten.
The Communist Party is determined to compete with them, making its own jetliners, and eventually exporting them.
The State-owned COMAC (or the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China) has released two short-range jetliners, the ARJ21 and the C919, which can carry up to 105 people. According to the company, it is currently working on a twin-aisle long-range plane for up to 290 passengers, the C929.
