Safety concerns raised about China crash runway

The Henan Airlines plane crashed late Tuesday in a grassy area near the Lindu airport in the Heilongjiang province city of Yichun. Survivors among the 96 passengers and crew described scenes of horror, with luggage falling down and escapes through flames and broken holes in the fuselage.

It was China's first major commercial air disaster in nearly six years. The plane's two black boxes were recovered Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, but it is still not known what caused the accident.

Vice Prime Minister Zhang Dejiang arrived Wednesday at the crash site to help set up an investigation team. State television reported that a preliminary investigation found that the airplane did not catch fire or explode in the air and that there were no signs of sabotage.

The newly built airport in Yichun sits in a forested valley and has operated for a year.

China Southern Airlines decided last August to avoid night flights in and out of Yichun, switching its daily flight from Harbin to the daytime. A technical notice cited concerns about the airport's surrounding terrain, runway lighting and wind and weather conditions.

"Principally, there should be no night flights at Yichun airport," said the notice from China Southern's Heilongjiang branch that was posted online. An employee with the branch's technical office confirmed the notice's authenticity. He declined to give his name because he was not authorized to talk to the media, but said China Southern decided to cancel night flights at Yichun "for safety concerns. We're cautious."

The crash and fire were so severe that little of the fuselage remained, though the charred tail was still largely intact. China Central Television said eight of the victims were found 65 to 100 feet (20 to 30 meters) from the plane's wreckage in a muddy field.

Xinhua said officials had earlier reported 43 dead because one body was torn apart in the crash and had been counted as two. It said the pilot, Qi Quanjun, survived the crash but was badly hurt and cannot speak.

One survivor told Xinhua that there was strong turbulence just after the announcement that the plane was about to land.

"There were four or five bad turbulence (jolts) and luggage in the overhead bin was raining down," he was quoted as saying. "Everyone panicked. Those sitting in the back began rushing to the front of the cabin."

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