What happened
During a routine flight departing from Beijing, the crew initiated their descent toward Dalian Airport. While the aircraft was traversing the eastern portion of the Korean Gulf, the flight crew established contact with Air Traffic Control to declare an emergency. At that time, they reported that a fire had broken out on board and that smoke was beginning to permeate the cabin.
Shortly after this communication, the aircraft began an uncontrolled descent. The plane impacted the surface of the sea approximately 20 km from the destination airport. The force of the impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate. There were 112 fatalities among the occupants of the flight.
Following the accident, investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder on May 13, with the flight data recorder being located on May 18.
Findings
- The crew reported an in-flight fire and smoke within the cabin prior to the loss of control.