63 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
63 lines
3.5 KiB
Plaintext
SUBJECT: UFOs CAUSE 737 TO CRASH FILE: UFO3203
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11/28/92 0711
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Speculation over cause as relatives mourn at crash site
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By NICK DRIVER
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BEIJING -- Aviation experts investigated China's worst air crash amid
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speculative reports the accident may have been caused by falling engine
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parts, thunderstorm fireballs or even UFOs, official reports said Saturday.
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Investigators continued to sift through tons of evidence from the
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wreckage of the Boeing 737 which crashed into a mountain near the south China
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city of Guilin Tuesday. They attempted to decode the black box flight
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recorders for clues to the disaster that killed 128 Chinese and 13
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foreigners.
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But as more than 1,000 relatives gathered Saturday to mourn the
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victims at the site of the crash, investigators had not yet explained what
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caused the Boeing 737 to change course and hit a mountain.
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"Whatever caused the plane to drop to 600 meters (2,000 feet) above
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sea level in a short two minutes is still an enigma," the China News Service
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quoted an Guilin airport official as saying.
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"Aviation experts use the word 'bizarre' to describe the tragedy,"
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the official China News Service said.
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The pilot, who had years of flying experience, had radioed the
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control tower five minutes before its scheduled landing time to say he would
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make a normal landing. That was the last message the control tower heard from
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the pilot.
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Villagers reported seeing a large chunk of the jetliner fall off just
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before it hit the mountain, but three days of extensive searching by 1, 200
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soldiers and rescue officials failed to produce any evidence.
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"Another odd phenomenon is that the plane exploded into tiny
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pieces... there is no sign of the tail of the plane, usually found after
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most crashes," the news report said.
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News reports quoted villagers and officials saying the crash was
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caused by UFOs seen by locals three weeks before the accident.
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"A score of people had sighted a light from a UFO in the sky at the
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site of the crash," the China News Service quoted a local Guilin newspaper as
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saying.
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"The light, which was orange and had a broom-like profile, spun
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around counter-clockwise in the sky, then disappeared after 7-8 minutes, "
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the reports said.
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Other reports quoted experts saying a more likely cause was thunder
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clouds. "The experts think the (UFOs) might be fireballs resulting from the
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striking of thunder clouds in the night sky," one report said. "Some aviation
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experts inferred the plane might have met with strong thunder and could not
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be controlled."
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A team of Boeing and engine-manufacturer General Electric officials
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arrived in China Friday to help decode the black box flight recorders and to
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sift through evidence collected from the wreckage.
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Meanwhile, more than 1,000 relatives of Flight CZ 3943's victims held
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Buddhist ceremonies and grieved at the site of the crash outside the scenic
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south China city of Guilin, setting off firecrackers and burning paper money,
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the official China News Service said.
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"The people arrived at the foot of the mountain with pictures and
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other offerings including flowers, candles, incense and fruit," the official
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Xinhua news agency reported.
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