Chinese airline grounds all its Boeing 737-800s after 132 died in death plunge: Passenger jet went into sudden terrifying 350mph, 30,000ft dive and smashed into mountainside in China killing all people onboard

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A Chinese airline has grounded all of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft today after 132 people died when their passenger jet crashed in China this morning after suddenly nose-diving and plummeting 30,000ft in two minutes an hitting the ground at 350mph. 

State media reported all 737-800s in China Eastern's fleet were ordered grounded, the model is the predecessor to the controversial 737 Max model but is regarded as safe despite a series of crashes over its long history, 

Boeing shares sank by more than 4 percent this morning, in the latest catastrophe to hit the firm after the 737 Max crashes caused by faulty flight control software led to the indictment of Boeing's top pilot, a $225 million settlement with investors and a $2.5 billion payout to the families of those killed.  

The China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 suffered a catastrophic 'loss of control event' and nosedived before smashing into the Chinese hillside, erupting in a huge fireball and causing a forest fire visible in NASA satellite images taken from Space, near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county in the southern province of Guangxi.

A rescue official reportedly said the plane had completely disintegrated while a fire sparked by the crash ripped through bamboo and trees before being put out. China Eastern expressed 'deep condolences' after confirming the fatalities of 123 passengers and nine crew who were onboard, adding that all the victims were Chinese. 

Horrifying CCTV footage emerged on social media supposedly showing the jet racing vertically towards the ground in the moments before the smash. 

FlightRadar tracking data showed the aircraft cruising at 29,100ft at 2.20pm. Around two minutes later it had plummeted to just over 9,000ft and 20 seconds after that it had fallen to just 3,225ft. The data indicates a vertical descent of 31,000ft per minute or around 350 mph.

Altitude data also appears to show aircraft regain height at around 7,5000ft before beginning its final descent.  

President Xi Jinping said that he was 'shocked' by the incident and immediately ordered an investigation into the cause.

It is not yet clear what forced the sudden dip and crash, but aviation experts told MailOnline it may have been 'a loss of control event, possibly following a high altitude stall of the aircraft' or a sensory failure in the cockpit.

The plane, flight number MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou, is believed to be a Boeing 737-89P, which is not part of the MAX series that has been dogged by problems in recent years.

Shares of Boeing fell 5.6 percent to $182.06 in mid-morning trading. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The crash will renew calls for China to make its aviation safety record - which is considered good but allegedly sees an underreporting of safety lapses - more transparent.

China's Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said the aircraft lost contact over the city of Wuzhou. 

The CAAC said in a statement: 'The CAAC has activated the emergency mechanism and sent a working group to the scene.'

The Aviation Safety Network said: 'We are following multiple unconfirmed reports about a possible accident involving China Eastern Airlines flight #MU5735 a Boeing 737-89P (B-1791) en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, China.'

President Xi said: 'We are shocked to learn of the China Eastern MU5735 accident.

He also called for 'all efforts' towards the rescue and to find out the 'cause of the accident as soon as possible'.

One villager told a local news site the plane involved in the crash had 'completely fallen apart' and he had seen forest destroyed by the fire caused by the crash.

A local official added: 'The exact location of the accident was Langnan township in Teng county.'

Families of those onboard gathered in China Eastern Airlines' Yunan branch late on Monday and were assisted by staff as they wait for news of their loved ones. 

The flight departed the southwestern city of Kunming at 1.11pm (5.11pm GMT), FlightRadar24 data showed. But tracking ended at 2.22pm (6.22am GMT) at an altitude of 3,225 feet with a speed of 376 knots. The plane had been cruising at an altitude 29,100 feet at 6.20am GMT, according to FlightRadar24 data.

Just over two minutes and 15 seconds later, the next available data showed it had descended to 9,075 feet. In another 20 seconds, its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet. It had been due to land in Guangzhou, on the east coast, at 3.05pm (7.05am GMT).  

Shocking CCTV footage emerged on social media supposedly showing the jet racing vertically towards the ground in the moments before the smash

A rescue official reportedly said the plane had completely disintegrated while a fire sparked by the crash ripped through bamboo and trees before being put out (pictured, the crater where the plane landed)

A wildfire caused by the high-impact smash into the mountainside is pictured after the plane crash landed earlier on Monday

The China Eastern plane smashed into countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region, and 'caused a mountain fire', state broadcaster CCTV said. Pictured: Footage of the crash posted on social media

The plane, flight number MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou, got into trouble over the city of Wuzhou, before it plummeted 29,100ft into a mountainside on Monday

Altitude data also appears to show aircraft regain height at around 7,5000ft before beginning its final descent, although commentators have warned the figures could be anomalies

Rescuers set out to the plane crash site of Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, earlier today

Rescuers conduct search and rescue work around the plane crash site in Tengxian County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

A huge force of 23 fire trucks and 117 rescuers were said to have been deployed in a bid to search for survivors, though it was later confirmed all 132 people on board had perished. 

The website of China Eastern Airlines was later presented in black and white, which airlines do in response to a crash as a sign of respect for the assumed victims.

Arthur Rowe, specialist fellow in gas turbine performance and operability centre for propulsion engineering at Cranfield University, told MailOnline: 'It looks most likely a loss of control event, possibly following a high altitude stall of the aircraft.

'As usual there are multiple possible causes. Jammed or unresponsive control surfaces, especially on the tail are one.

'An inappropriate combination of autopilot settings is another - I'm not familiar with the details of this aircraft's flight controls though.

'Sabotage, although that's probably unlikely on a domestic Chinese flight given the Covid restrictions on entering the country.

'It's unlikely to be engine related as aircraft can fly perfectly well with no engine power - for a limited time obviously.'

Professor Bharath Ganapathisubramani, from Southampton University's engineering and physical sciences department added: 'Having looked at this and discussed with colleagues, we think that it is far too early to even speculate on possible causes.

'If the Flight Data Recorder and slash or the Cockpit Voice Recorder are found and are in a usable condition, we should know much more in a few months' time, with a final, definitive answer to what caused the tragedy likely to emerge in a year or so - based on the typical timelines of such events.'

Tao Yang, associate professor in engineering at Nottingham University, said: 'The plane was completely out of control and at this stage it is very difficult to say what has happened.

'However, most of the aeroplane accidents are related to sensors failure - ice protection fails.' 

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plummeted rapidly then appeared to have smashed into the hillside near the city of Wuzhou in Teng county

A Chinese airliner with 133 people on board has crashed in the southern province of Guangxi, erupting in a horror fire across a mountain

The China Eastern plane smashed into countryside near Wuzhou city, Guangxi region and 'caused a mountain fire', state broadcaster CCTV said

Parts of the plane were strewn across the countryside following the crash and fireball on Monday afternoon in China

Rescuers are seen in footage from CCTV piling on to a bus as they start their mission to search for survivors of the plane crash today

The plane (file photo of it is pictured) stopped transmitting data just southwest of the Chinese city of Wuzhou, according to data from Flight Radar. Chicago-based Boeing Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment

Aviation data provider OAG said this month state-owned China Eastern Airlines was the world's sixth-largest by scheduled weekly seat capacity and the biggest in China.

It has had a relatively strong performance in the domestic market during the coronavirus pandemic despite tight curbs on international flights, OAG said.

It is one of China's top three airlines, operating scores of domestic and international routes serving 248 destinations.

The aircraft was delivered to China Eastern from Boeing in June 2015 and had been flying for over six years.

The twin-engine, single aisle Boeing 737 is one of the world's most popular planes for short and medium-haul flights.

China Eastern operates multiple versions of the common aircraft, including the 737-800 and the 737 Max. The 737 Max version was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes.

China's aviation regulator cleared that plane to return to service late last year, making the country the last major market to do so.

The popular 737-800 variant has a maximum seating capacity of 189 and is equipped with CFM-56 engine, according to the planemaker's website.

The engines are made by a joint venture between General Electric Co and France's Safran SA.

The safety record of China's airline industry has been among the best in the world in the past decade.

But it is also less transparent than in countries like the US and Australia where regulators release detailed reports on non-fatal incidents, said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at industry publication Flightglobal.

'This makes it hard to get a sense of the true situation with Chinese carriers,' he said. 'There have been concerns that there is some underreporting of safety lapses on the mainland.'

According to Aviation Safety Network, China's last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility.

The 737-800 model that crashed today has a good safety record and is the predecessor to the 737 MAX model that has been grounded in China for more than three years following fatal crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.

Boeing was forced to stop the 737 Max after the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia happened less than six months apart.

The first disaster happened October 29, 2018, when a Max flying as Lion Air flight JT 610 fell into the Java Sea 15 minutes after taking off from Jakarta.

All 189 aboard the plane died, including 180 Indonesians, one Italian and one Indian. The second was on March 10, 2019, when Ethiopian Airlines slight ET 302 took off from the Ethiopian capital and crashed. 

All 157 people onboard the plane died. The plane was grounded around the world and thousands of holidaymakers and travellers missed their flights.

Boeing reported on July 14, 2019, that customers cancelled orders for 60 of the grounded 737 MAX jets in June.  The aircraft maker removed another 123 planes from its backlog over doubts that the deals will be completed.

In 1992, a China Southern 737-300 jet flying from Guangzhou to Guilin crashed on descent, killing all 141 people on board, according to Aviation Safety Network.

Most of the passengers onboard the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, were from China.

Passengers check in at the self-service machines of China Eastern Airlines in Kunming Changshui International Airport in China's southwestern Yunnan province after the earlier plane went down

Passengers sit in front of the self-service machines of China Eastern Airlines in Kunming Changshui International Airport in China's southwestern Yunnan province after the crash

Passengers arrive at Kunming Changshui International Airport in China's southwestern Yunnan province today after the horror jet crash earlier today

A flight information board shows a cancelled China Eastern Airlines flight (top) at the Kunming Changshui International Airport today

Flight Radar shows the plane taking off but not reaching its destination in the early hours

A graphic by the aviation monitoring website shows the plane plummet part-way through its journey

Flight Radar data shows how the plane plummeted thousands of feet before correcting then again falling before the horror crash

The website released data showing the aircraft's altitude during its descent as well as its speed during the incident on Monday

The web site of China Eastern Airlines was later presented in black and white, which airlines do in response to a crash as a sign of respect for the assumed victims

CCTV said a 'China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 plane carrying 133 people has crashed in Teng county, Wuzhou, Guangxi, and caused a mountain fire. Pictured: File photo of the area