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More details have emerged regarding the China Eastern Airlines flight that crashed on March 21 afternoon in a remote hillside area near Wuzhou in Teng County, Guangxi province.

It is the worst air disaster in China for over a decade.

All 132 on board -- 123 passengers and nine crew -- are presumed dead.

1. Plane's descent profile

It was previously reported that the plane nosedived 29,000 feet, or 8,800m, and at one point, managed to pull up before continuing its descend, where the plane disintegrated upon hitting the ground with tremendous force.

The descent profile charting the plane's direct path towards the ground has since been released.

The plane fell at such speeds it was falling at the speed of sound, Bloomberg reported.

Aviation experts have remarked that the plane's descent was highly unusual.

The fact that it pulled up momentarily was also strange.

2. One of two black boxes found

So far, one black box has been recovered but is “badly damaged”.

It has been sent to Beijing for analysis.

A second black box, which records flight data, has not yet been found.

More than 300 workers are at the scene.

Rescue work has been hampered by rain and waterlogged conditions.

3. Human remains found

The Guardian reported that human remains have been found, despite the force of the impact.

Families of the victims have arrived at the crash site.

Some details of passengers have also begun to emerge in Chinese state media, The Guardian additionally reported.

China Youth Daily reported that a man, who used the pseudonym Wang Baiyang, said his 26-year-old sister, her husband and their 18-month-old daughter were on board.

It was the young family's first-ever flight.

They were reportedly flying to Guangzhou for medical treatment for the child.

They had originally been scheduled on an earlier flight but it was cancelled.

The brother of the deceased woman wrote: “For the past two days, I felt like I had a dream, and I always felt that when I woke up the next day, my sister would call me.”

“I didn’t think it was real at all, first my grandfather died, and then I heard the news of the flight, and I just froze there and tried to reach my sister through the phone.”

Wang said his sister, Gu Hanyu, had even sent the family a video before the flight.

The footage captured the woman's daughter jumping around the lounge and playing with her mask, and giggling.

Gu was born deaf and had met her husband Guo Zengqiang on a blind date.

They had been married since February 2020 at a simple ceremony.

“Who would have thought that just after they found a doctor who can cure the child’s disease, this disease will not have to be treated,” said Wang.

“Life-saving flights become fatal flights. It was their first and last flight.”

4. Plane was six years old only

The plane was a six-year-old Boeing 737-89P.

The Boeing 737-800s are among the most common passenger planes in the world, and different from the 737 Max, which was grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.

5. Pilots had good relationships with their families

Attention has turned to the pilots on board the flight.

It has been revealed there were three pilots on the plane in total.

In an apparent response to speculation that the crash could be due to pilot activity, Sun Shiying, chairman of the airline’s Yunnan branch, told reporters on March 23 that the three pilots on board were in good health.

The chairman also said the three pilots “had good performance and had maintained harmonious relationships with their families”.

Top photos via FlightRadar24 & Getty

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