Boeing Co., the aircraft manufacturer, declined to comment and asked Chinese regulators. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) did not comment immediately.
In March, a Boeing 737-800 flying from Kunming to Guangzhou crashed in the Guangxi Mountains after falling suddenly from a cruising altitude, killing all 132 people on board. It was the deadliest plane crash in mainland China in 28 years.
The weather at the time of the crash was “normal”, authorities said in March. The control tower maintained regular contact with the three pilots until the plane began a sudden descent.
In mid-April, China Eastern resumed the use of 737-800 aircraft. In a summary of their preliminary report on the crash last month, Chinese regulators did not provide any technical recommendations for the 737-800, which has been in operation since 1997 with strong safety indicators, according to experts.
NTSB chairman Jennifer Homendi said in an interview with Reuters on May 10 that investigators on board and Boeing had traveled to China to help the Chinese investigation. She noted that the investigation has so far not identified any safety issues that require urgent action.
Ms Homendi said that if the board had any safety concerns, it would “issue urgent safety recommendations”.
Shares of Boeing rose 5.9 percent in Tuesday afternoon trading.
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