China Eastern Airlines crash 100 hours: seven major progress in search and rescue, but many difficulties remain

　　China News Service Client, Beijing, March 25th. On the 25th, the search for the crash of China Eastern Airlines entered its fifth day.

　　In the past 100 hours, what new progress has been made in the on-site search and rescue?

How difficult is it to investigate?

How is the service guarantee work for family members?

On the 24th, in Teng County, Wuzhou, Guangxi, search and rescue work continued in the rain, and search and rescue personnel were stepping up their search for the second black box.

Image source: ICphoto

last 100 hours

Relief efforts made these progress

1.

　　On the afternoon of March 23, a black box of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 was found.

　　According to reports, on the evening of the 23rd, the first black box (cockpit voice recorder) was delivered to the decoding laboratory in Beijing by special personnel. The data download and analysis work is in progress, and the possibility of damage to the storage unit cannot be ruled out at present.

　　At the press conference on the 25th, Mao Yanfeng, director of the Civil Aviation Administration's Accident Investigation Center, said that since the professional laboratory of the Civil Aviation Administration received the recorder, it has been intensively carrying out repair and data download work. The data analysis work cannot have a definite time at present.

　　The second black box is still being searched.

According to the preliminary exploration results, the emergency response headquarters organized relevant professionals to study and formulate an excavation plan for the core area, providing guidance for the next step of search and rescue work, and also providing technical support for the grid-based search for the second "black box".

2. Basically determine the main impact point of the crash accident

　　On the afternoon of the 24th, a press conference held by the National Emergency Response Command of the accident revealed that the main impact point of the accident had been basically determined. It extends down to about 20 meters.

Pictured is the wreckage of the crashed plane.

Photo by He Huawen

3. Find the core area of ​​the main wreckage of the aircraft 

　　According to the report on the afternoon of the 24th, the main wreckage that has been found includes: engine blades and turbine parts, engine pylon parts, left and right horizontal tail parts, aileron autopilot actuators and some winglets with parts Wing fragments were also found in the cockpit, as well as crew escape ropes and fragments of the crew manual, as well as some crew documents.

　　Lao Gaojin, deputy mayor of Guangxi Wuzhou City and director of the Public Security Bureau, said at a press conference on the 25th that in addition to continuing to carry out search and rescue in the original core area, the search area for the crashed flight has been expanded to nearly 200,000 square meters.

　　Mao Yanfeng, director of the Civil Aviation Administration's Accident Investigation Center, also said at the press conference that on the 25th, the engine gearbox of the crashed aircraft and the remnants of the aircraft's main landing gear were found in the core area of ​​​​the site. of.

4. Found

101 relics and

　　Lao Gaojin said at a press conference on the 25th that under the unified command of the expert team of the Ministry of Public Security, a total of 236 experts and criminal technicians from the Ministry of Public Security, autonomous region, city and county public security organs formed 34 working groups to carry out comprehensive Biometrics, traces and physical evidence surveys, identification of victims and DNA testing and comparison.

After investigation of the center's site and three rounds of surface searches, as of 15:00 on the 25th, some remains were found, and 18 fingerprints and 101 relics were found and extracted.

5.

　　"When the plane crashed, the weather on the route was airworthy and there was no dangerous weather." Sun Shiying, chairman of China Eastern Airlines Yunnan Co., Ltd., introduced at the press conference on the 23rd that the plane took off from Kunming until it suddenly dropped in altitude on the route. Air traffic control units maintain normal communication links.

　　Sun Shiying introduced that the aircraft was introduced on June 22, 2015, and the aircraft maintenance has been strictly implemented in accordance with the maintenance technical plan, and the technical condition is stable and normal.

Before takeoff, the aircraft complied with maintenance release standards and airworthiness requirements and was released normally.

　　In terms of flight crew, the flight crew of the flight was 3 people.

The flight licenses and health certificates of the three pilots are all within the validity period, in good health, with complete flight experience, and meet the requirements.

　　At the press conference on the 25th, Liu Xiaodong, director of the propaganda department of China Eastern Airlines Group, said that before the flight lost contact, the communication had been normal.

That is, the crew did not hang any emergency codes.

On March 24, at the crash site of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 in Teng County, Guangxi, the emergency management department used technologies such as drone aerial photography to speed up the rescue.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Yizhao

6.

　　The rescue work adopts a combination of human search and rescue and high-tech search and rescue.

Unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters take off. In addition to ensuring communication and night lighting, their more important tasks are to create on-site panorama, two-dimensional orthophoto and three-dimensional modeling, etc., and conduct inspections within 20 meters below the superficial surface of the accident area. Life detection, never give up any hope of search and rescue.

　　At present, the staff of the search and rescue team are still scouring the cameras and witnesses in the vicinity of the incident area one by one, trying to find further clues, and with the assistance of the technical investigation team, they will further expand the search scope.

Although no survivors of the accident have yet been found, efforts to find survivors have never been given up.

　　It is reported that up to now, the emergency response headquarters has dispatched more than 5,000 person-times, more than 200 vehicles, 5 helicopters and a batch of search and rescue equipment.

7.

　　In line with the principle of respecting life and the demands of family members, as of 10:00 on the 25th, the emergency response headquarters had ordered 375 family members of the lost passengers to come to the accident site to offer condolences, and properly received, transferred and stored the remains. It has carried out DNA sampling and psychological counseling for the immediate blood relatives of the missing passengers in an orderly manner, and has provided psychological counseling for more than 500 family members in an orderly manner; timely arrange medical examinations for family members with physical symptoms, and ensure that medical staff are on call 24 hours a day.

　　Liu Xiaodong, head of the propaganda department of China Eastern Airlines Group, said on the 25th that the passenger lists of all flights are private information protected by law and do not belong to the category of voluntary disclosure.

At present, China Eastern Airlines has provided the investigation team with a complete list of passengers and will contact the families of all passengers within 24 hours after the incident.

The family members of the passengers used clay pots to bring the soil from the scene home.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Yizhao

and these difficulties

1. The aircraft was seriously damaged, and no survivors have been found, so the investigation is difficult

　　Gao Yuanyang, director of the Aviation Industry Research Center of Beihang University, said in an interview with CCTV news that the "3.21" China Eastern Airlines flight accident was severely damaged, and the wreckage was scattered in the mountainous area. The investigation is very difficult.

　　"The process is often very complex, especially if we don't have enough valid data or information, the investigation of the accident can be very difficult and it can take a long time."

2. The black box must be extracted, decoded and analyzed, and it takes a long time to form a conclusion

　　Regarding the black boxes that have been found, experts said that the black boxes must be extracted, decoded, and analyzed, and then a situation report is formed. It will take about 10 to 15 days to obtain the preliminary analysis results.

But it may take longer to reach a final conclusion that can be presented in an accident investigation report.

On March 24, at the scene of the crash of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735, search and rescue personnel were about to enter the scene to carry out search and rescue.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Yizhao

3. It is difficult to find in the mountains, and there are snakes and insects in the search and rescue scene

　　According to CCTV news reports, the press conference on the 24th informed that in accordance with the command of the headquarters, the search area was expanded on the 24th. The area to the east of the core area is basically virgin forest, the mountain is steep, and the height difference from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain is nearly 100 meters. Relying on shovels and shovels, the personnel opened up roads along some large stones and broken walls, and searched while climbing.

The area is rich in vegetation, and there are dense weeds that are taller than people everywhere. The sight of rescuers is blocked. After the rain, snakes and insects are infested in the mountains and forests, adding to the difficulty.

4. Rainfall and muddy water burial increase the difficulty of search and rescue

　　"It has been raining continuously in Teng County for several days, which has increased the difficulty of on-site rescue." On the afternoon of the 24th, Zheng Xi, the captain of the Guangxi Fire and Rescue Corps, also mentioned at the press conference that after expert assessment, there were small-scale landslides and Risk of collapse.

　　After the rain, the road is more difficult to travel, the accident area is far away from the road, the mountain road is narrow and slippery, and the large fire rescue vehicles and equipment cannot get close.

(over)