Victims' relatives believe investigation points to disregard for safety and lax management at China Eastern Airlines
More than 250 days have passed since a China Eastern Airlines flight crashed in Baotou , Inner Mongolia , killing 55 people, but victims' relatives are still waiting for an official verdict on the cause of the accident.
Some family members and their lawyers are expressing increasing concern over what they see as attempts to cover up results of the investigation as speculation rises that they point to a blatant disregard for safety procedures by the airline's crew and lax management at the carrier.
Flight MU5210 burst into flames less than a minute after takeoff from Baotou on November 21 and plunged into a frozen lake, claiming the lives of all 47 passengers and six crew on board, as well as two people on the ground.
Investigators searching through the wreckage of the Bombardier CRJ200 later said they had failed to find any evidence of a deliberate attempt to blow up the aircraft.
The industry watchdog, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), has yet to release the results of its investigation but, under regulations issued in 2000, a report should have been submitted to the State Council within 120 days of the crash.