What happened
During a routine flight originating from Chengdu, the crew was instructed to begin a descent toward Wenzhou Airport. The flight proceeded without incident until the aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 9,000 meters, at which point the crew experienced mechanical issues involving the control column being positioned too far forward.
At 16:29 local time, while the aircraft was cleared to descend from 1,200 meters to 700 meters, the plane transitioned into a nose-down attitude. As the crew attempted to deploy the first stage of flaps, the Angle of Attack (AOA) alarm activated within the cockpit. This was followed by an uncontrolled descent that ended when the aircraft struck an open field. The impact caused the airframe to disintegrate. There were 61 fatalities among the occupants, though some local farmers sustained injuries from falling debris.
Findings
- The crew encountered technical difficulties with the control column during the descent phase.
- The aircraft entered an unrecoverable nose-down pitch.
- The activation of the AOA alarm coincided with the deployment of flaps.