China's Aviation Authority Says No Dangerous Cargoes Found on Board of Crashed Boeing 737

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China Eastern Airlines passenger plane that crashed in southern China in March had no declared dangerous objects on board and did not face any dangerous weather conditions during flight, China's Civil Aviation Administration said on Wednesday.

The authority released a preliminary investigation report in accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation and China's civil aviation law. The final report will be published after the end of the investigation.

"There were no cargoes declared as dangerous on board the aircraft," the authority said in the report, adding that there were also "no dangerous weather phenomena" during the flight.

According to the report, the plane passed all necessary technical checks before departure.

This photo taken on March 21, 2022 shows paramilitary police officers conducting a search at the site of the China Eastern Airlines plane crash in Tengxian county, Wuzhou city, in China's southern Guangxi region.

© AFP 2023 / -

Causes of the crash remain unspecified.

China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 with 132 people on board crashed in southern China on 21 March. All passengers and crew members were confirmed dead. The two flight recorders were found at the crash site on 23 March and 27 March. The Chinese authorities said that no explosive components had been found in the samples collected at the scene.

The crash is the largest air disaster in China in over 11 years. The last major air accident in China was the crash of Henan Airlines flight VD8387 from the city of Harbin to Yichun, Heilongjiang province in August 2010. Forty-two of the 96 people on board died.