Two main theories that have now emerged about why the Chinese airliner suddenly nose-dived from a cruising height of 29,000 ft and crashed into a hillside. Experts say that it was either due to a mechanical failure or sabotage.
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Two main theories that have now emerged about why the Chinese airliner suddenly nose-dived from a cruising height of 29,000 ft and crashed into a hillside.&nbsp; Experts say that it was either due to a mechanical failure or sabotage, according to a BBC report.</p>
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The radar data shows the plane reaching maximum descent speeds of 31,000 ft per minute – or 157m per second.</p>
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&quot;This is extremely excessive and not something we would normally see in any sort of flight. The aircraft would have been almost vertical,&quot; BBC cited Dr Sonya Brown, an aviation expert from the University of New South Wales, as saying.</p>
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Stating that there could be two reasons, Dr Brown said, &ldquo;One is a catastrophic failure of the plane&#39;s horizontal tail – the part at the back which stabilises the plane and keeps it in line with the direction it&#39;s moving.</p>
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That could lead to the plane tipping over as it did. &quot;That could be something mechanically caused – for example a runaway stabiliser,&quot; she said.</p>
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The other option that&#39;s increasingly being suggested among experts is sabotage.</p>
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She mentioned the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash in 2015, where a co-pilot crashed an Airbus carrying 150 people into the French Alps.</p>
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But she also pointed out that even then, the Germanwings aircraft only reached descent rates of 3,000-4,000ft per minute, compared to the 30,000 ft rate by which the Chinese flight plunged.</p>
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&quot;So this is a significantly,different scenario – really extreme,&quot; Dr Brown said.</p>
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&ldquo;Aircraft are designed to glide.., Even if all engines went out – the plane would slow down a little may be but it will just glide,&quot; she pointed out.</p>
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Experts are also baffled that about 7,000-8,000 ft from the ground, there was a slight upturn, the data shows. But then the plane continued its high speed plummet to the ground which could indicate sabotage.</p>
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<strong>Info about the pilots</strong></p>
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There were three pilots on the plane, China Eastern officials disclosed on Wednesday. One of them was there as an observer to build up experience.</p>
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The captain had 6,709 hours flying experience, while the first and second officers had 31,769 hours and 556 hours respectively.</p>
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&quot;From what we know, the performance of the three pilots had been good and their family life relatively harmonious,&quot; said airline spokesman Shangguan Xuemin.</p>
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He confirmed that typically, the airline deployed only two pilots on short-haul flights as per industry practice.</p>
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<strong>Black box</strong></p>
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Meanwhile authorities have sent the cockpit recorder found at the crash site on Wednesday to a lab in Beijing for decoding. The black box was damaged by the impact of the crash, but the data inside appeared stable, officials said.</p>
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If the plane was deliberately crashed, the cockpit voice recorder will definitely give an indication of this.&nbsp;</p>
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The flight data recorder is yet to be recovered. This second black box will contain information control settings, air data and other technological parameters related to mechanical issues.</p>
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