China Eastern plane crash likely intentional: Reports

A China Eastern Airlines aircraft that crashed in the southern Guangxi province of China in March this year was likely made to crash intentionally, according to US media reports.

The Boeing 737, carrying 132 passengers, was flying at a high altitude when it crashed, killing all people on board the aircraft. This was China's deadliest aviation disaster in the last 28 years.

A report by The Wall Street Journal cites an analysis by US officials which suggests that the plane was made to nosedive and that there were no technical errors.

The data obtained from the black box indicates that someone in the cockpit had intentionally crashed the aircraft, according to the report. "The plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit," wrote WSJ citing its sources.

China Eastern Airlines also said that the three pilots on board were in good health and did not have any financial troubles either. According to aviation experts, the crash resembled the Germanwings crash in 2015 due to the lack of reported mayday call or any loss of data signal.

Chinese authorities had also said that no emergency code had been sent from the plane, indicating the cockpit security was unlikely to have been compromised.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is leading the investigation into the crash. US officials are also involved in the investigation as the plane was US-made.

The CAAC had earlier said that the reports about the plane being made to crash deliberately were causing an interference in their investigation. The investigators are still analysing data retrieved from the wreckage.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and Boeing have declined to comment on the reports. "Under the rules regarding crash investigations... only the investigating agency can comment on an open-air accident investigation," a Boeing spokesperson told the BBC.