A Boeing 737 that plummeted 30,000ft to the ground and burst into flames in China killing all 132 on board suffered a catastrophic 'loss of control event' and plunged to the ground at 350mph in a two-minute death spiral, experts have warned. The China Eastern Airlines flight nosedived before smashing into the 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.
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.
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).
(More at the link. Photos, video, etc. Something stinks about this.)