China plane crash: US names senior investigator as probe representative

United States authorities picked a representative for investigating the recent China Eastern Airlines crash, nearly a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a probe will be launched to get more insight.

United States National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday that a senior safety investigator has been named the American representative for the investigation, according to reports from Reuters. The name of the picked official remains unclear.

Also Read: Boeing shares plunge over 5% after 737 aircraft crashes in Southern China

The National Transportation Safety Board further announced that the representative will also be joined by technical advisors for the investigation. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and CFM (a joint venture of Safran and General Electric that produced the engines) will also be a part.

However, United States authorities did not clear if and when the officials will travel to the crash site in China to move further in the investigations. The Boeing 737-800 crashed near the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi region while flying from Kunming in the southwestern province of Yunnan to the industrial center of Guangzhou along the east coast.

Chinese state media announced early on Tuesday that no survivors had been found in the rubble that was left of the crashed Boeing 737-800. The aircraft carried 132 individuals, out of which nine were crew members.

Also Read: China plane crash: A look at recent air accidents involving Boeing 737s

Why does the United States get to send a representative?

According to reports from Reuters citing a previously signed international agreement, the United States is permitted to send a representative for the investigation as the aircraft was manufactured in the country. 

Similar steps have been taken before in incidents where a plane crash was involved. In 2018, when a plane crashed in Indonesia, the National Transportation Safety Board swiftly dispatched representatives to participate in the government-led probe.