Air travel

Report: Deliberate Fuel Cutoff Behind 2022 China Plane Crash

Is China covering up the cause of Flight MU5735 or is the investigation simply too complex for quick answers?

Published MAY 5

Report: Deliberate Fuel Cutoff Behind 2022 China Plane Crash

Story

Above: Rescuers conduct search-and-rescue operations at the crash site of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 on March 26, 2022. Image credit: Lu Boan/Xinhua/Getty Images

The Spin

Anti-China narrative

China has spent four years hiding the truth about Flight MU5735, and the NTSB data makes clear why — someone in that cockpit deliberately cut the engines and pushed the plane into a fatal dive. Beijing cited "national security" to suppress the findings, skipped required anniversary reports and never released a final investigation. That's not a complicated probe; that's a cover-up.

Byron Wan on X

Melissa Chen on X

Pro-China narrative

The MU5735 investigation is genuinely complex — the plane disintegrated on impact, scattering wreckage across a wide area and making evidence collection extraordinarily difficult. The CAAC released a one-year progress report consistent with international aviation norms, though only 25% of major accidents produce final reports within 12 months. Rushing conclusions on a case this technically demanding undermines the integrity of the CAAC findings.

Global Times