A China Eastern Boeing 737 with 132 onboard crashes, casualties unknown

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China jet’s nosedive from 29,000 feet baffles crash specialists

(March 22): The China Eastern Airlines Corp. jet was flying a normal route to Guangzhou when it suddenly nosed over at cruise altitude and dove.

That’s about all that is known for certain about the unusual crash that killed all 132 people aboard the aircraft Monday in China’s worst aviation accident in more than a decade.

While there have been a handful of crashes in which an airliner plunged from cruising altitude, few, if any, fit the extreme profile of the Boeing Co. 737-800 as it pointed steeply toward the ground, according to veteran crash investigators and previous accident reports.

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