Aviation

Boeing 737 carrying 132 passengers and crew crashes in southern China.

On Monday, a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in the mountains of southern China on a domestic flight after a rapid descent from cruising altitude.
According to the media, there were no survivors, and the airline expressed its condolences for the passengers and crew who died.

The plane was flying from Kunming, Yunnan province’s capital, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province’s capital, which borders Hong Kong.

The aeroplane descended at a terminal velocity of 31,000 feet per minute, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. The cause of the tragedy is being investigated, according to China Eastern.

According to the airline, it established a hotline for customers’ relatives and dispatched a staff to the catastrophe scene.

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The plane crashed and set fire to bamboo trees, according to media accounts. A provincial firefighting department official declared to the People’s Daily that there was no sign of life among the rubble.

The jet, which was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members, lost communication above Wuzhou, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the airline.

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According to FlightRadar24 data, the flight left Kunming at 1:11 p.m. (0511 GMT) and was scheduled to arrive in Guangzhou at 3:05 p.m. (0705 GMT).

Despite the fact that the cruising phase of flight takes up the majority of the flight duration, accidents are rare.

According to statistics given by Boeing last year, just 13% of fatal commercial accidents occurred during the cruise phase between 2011 and 2020, whereas 28% of fatal accidents occurred on final approach and 26% on landing.

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Aviation

Aeroflot Buys Used Planes for Spare Parts Amid Sanctions

In the face of ongoing Western sanctions that have severely impacted Russia’s aviation industry, Aeroflot, the country’s largest airline, has devised a strategic plan to bolster its fleet’s spare parts inventory.

The airline is set to acquire five Boeing 737-800BCF freighters from Atran Airlines, a move that will allow it to dismantle the aircraft for critical components. The planes, which will be transferred to Aeroflot’s low-cost subsidiary Pobeda, will not be converted into passenger jets but instead will be stripped for valuable parts to support existing operations.

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Aeroflot’s plan to purchase these Boeing 737-800BCF freighters comes as part of a broader strategy to mitigate the effects of Western sanctions, which have crippled the Russian aviation sector. With the sanctions restricting access to essential aircraft parts and spare components, Aeroflot is exploring alternative ways to maintain and repair its fleet.

Instead of converting the freighters from cargo to passenger planes, a process deemed “unreasonably expensive” under current sanctions, the airline intends to focus on extracting high-value components such as engines, landing gear, avionics, and other essential systems.

The deal will be structured in a way that allows Aeroflot to indirectly purchase the freighters through an insurance settlement with the aircraft’s lessor, AerCap.

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The Russian government’s insurance company will reimburse the aircraft’s value, and the planes will then be leased back to local operators. This method circumvents some of the restrictions imposed by international sanctions while ensuring that the airline gains access to the necessary components to support its fleet.

By dismantling the aircraft for spare parts, Aeroflot aims to secure critical resources for the ongoing maintenance of its existing fleet. Components from the Boeing 737-800BCF freighters, such as engines and avionics, are expected to be reused in other aircraft within Aeroflot’s network, ensuring that the airline can keep its operations running smoothly