Overview
- Flight-recorder excerpts released under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act show both engine fuel switches moved from Run to Cut off near 29,000 feet, and engine speed then fell.
- The data also show the autopilot switched off during the dive and one control column pushed down as the ailerons moved wide, which points to conflicting inputs in the cockpit.
- Aviation analysts say this is hard to square with a normal mechanical failure and fits a human cut to fuel flow, but the files do not show motive or who moved the switches.
- The release highlights a lack of public findings because China’s aviation regulator has not issued a final report and has limited updates since 2024, citing national security and social stability.
- MU5735, a China Eastern Boeing 737-800 from Kunming to Guangzhou, crashed near Wuzhou in March 2022 and all 132 people died, and earlier U.S. reporting suggested a deliberate sequence.