According to online flight tracker FlightRadar24, the China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed in the mountains of southern China on Monday reported a sudden loss of cruising altitude – nearly 26,000 feet in less than 3 minutes.
According to FlightRadar24, the Boeing 737-800 took off from Kunming at 1:11 p.m. and was scheduled to land in Guangzhou at 3:05 p.m. After 2:22 p.m., the website showed no data for the flight.

At 0620 GMT, the plane, which Flightradar24 said was six years old, was cruising at an altitude of 29,100 feet. Data showed that it had descended to 9,075 feet in just over two minutes and 15 seconds.

Its last tracked altitude was 3,225 feet after another 20 seconds.

Crashes during the cruise phase of flight are uncommon, despite accounting for the majority of flight time.

There were no survivors, according to the media, and the airline expressed its condolences to the passengers and crew who died.

According to FlightRadar24, the cause of the crash, in which the plane descended at a final rate of 31,000 feet per minute, is being investigated by China Eastern.

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According to CCTV, the crash “caused a mountain fire,” which was later extinguished.

Hundreds of firefighters were dispatched to the scene in Teng county, near Wuzhou, according to state media, as nearby villagers rushed to assist with the rescue effort.

President Xi Jinping issued an unusually swift public response, saying he was “shocked” and ordering an immediate investigation into the disaster’s cause.

Following the crash, China Eastern grounded its 737-800 fleet, according to state media. According to FlightRadar24, China Eastern has 109 of the aircraft in its fleet.