Investigators Recover 36,000 Fragments From China Plane Wreckage

More than 36,000 fragments of the China Eastern Airlines Corp. passenger jet that crashed on March 21 have been recovered, potentially offering clues on why the plane entered a fatal high-speed dive. 

Authorities continue to search for more of the Boeing Co. 737-800 NG, which smashed into a hillside near Wuzhou in southern China. As well as thousands of tiny shards, the two flight recorders and engine parts have been found among the debris. Boeing 737-800 NGs typically have about 600,000 components.

The fragments could help the investigation because data from flight recorders often don’t fully explain what went wrong, Zhu Tao, director of safety at the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said during a press conference Monday.

Investigators are analyzing the parts and talking to witnesses of the crash who took videos that might help the probe, Zhu said. The remains of all 132 people on board have been identified, authorities said. It was the first fatal commercial passenger airliner crash in China since 2010.

Decoding work on the aircraft’s two black boxes is underway in Beijing. The flight-data recorder, which was buried about 40 meters from the main crash site, was unearthed on Sunday. 

Some parts of the device were severely damaged, according to CAAC officials, possibly complicating the task of retrieving and deciphering any information inside. Investigators found the cockpit voice recorder on Wednesday, which they said also may have been damaged.