Wreckage of the 9-seat Cessna 208B propeller seaplane is being salvaged after its fatal crash during maiden flight today in Jinshan District, leaving 5 on board killed. (Xinhua)
China's civil aviation authority has grounded all aircraft belonging to Joy General Aviation yesterday after one of its seaplanes crashed in the waters in Jinshan District in Shanghai on Wednesday, killing five people.
The plane's in-flight recorder, or the "black box," has been found and is being analyzed, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said yesterday.
The CAAC has ordered an investigation into the crash.
The East China Regional Administration under the CAAC has sent teams of experts to investigate the crash. They will probe flying safety, flight operation, aircraft maintenance, airport operation and public security, it said in a statement.
Joy General Aviation, which is based in the Zhoushan Archipelago, is also being probed for its operation, personnel, flying licenses, airworthiness and security, the statement said.
A customer service manager of Joy General Aviation said they had not received any notice to suspend flights but the company had already stopped selling tickets.
The administration had issued the commercial operation certificate to the carrier only last April.
Five people, including the copilot, were killed after the seaplane, a US Cessna 208B, crashed into the Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway No. 7835 Bridge at 12:20pm on Wednesday as it was taking off from the sea near Jinshan City Beach.
Five other people onboard the craft were injured and recovering, the Shanghai Health and Family Planning Commission said yesterday.
The plane's captain Zhang Fuquan had a surgery on his right leg but his condition remains serious, said Shen Jie, a doctor at Jinshan Hospital. Zhang remains in intensive care unit.
The other injured passengers are also in the ICU.
Song Wanjun, who had the presence of mind to help passengers get out of the craft after the crash, is suffering from severe celiac hematoma, Shen said.
The other injured passengers are also suffering from short-term amnesia due to injuries on their head.
A reporter and a cameraman with Shanghai Television Station, who were on the ill-fated seaplane, have been moved to Ruijin Hospital in downtown.
The cameraman, Wu Liangliang, suffered multiple fractures on his arms, ribs and legs.
Joy General Aviation was established by Joy Air in May 2014. It describes itself as China's first and biggest seaplane carrier and operated sightseeing routes among islands in the archipelago. It owns a fleet of 14 Cessna 208B seaplanes, including the one that crashed.
The carrier had previously said that it plans to expand its fleet to 100 within five years. Tickets costs from 700 yuan to 1,600 yuan.
The Joy Seaplane Airport near Jinshan Beach was closed yesterday. A Cessna 208B seaplane which completed a return flight between Jinshan and Zhoushan's Shengsi County was berthed at the airport.
