Pilots in good health, experienced: Airline

The three pilots onboard the recently crashed China Eastern Airlines passenger jet were in good health and qualified for the flight, Sun Shiying, chairman of the airline's Yunnan branch, said on Wednesday.

He said a news conference the flight licenses and health certificates of the three pilots were all within the validity period when they flew China Eastern MU5735 carrying 123 passengers from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Monday.

"The captain of the flight became captain for the Boeing 737 in January 2018. He has a total flight experience of 6,709 hours," Sun said, adding the flying hours of the first co-pilot was 31,769 and the second co-pilot had 556.

The performance records of the three pilots were good and their home lives showed no abnormalities, he said.

On Monday afternoon, the aircraft crashed in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members.

According to Sun, the crashed jet began operations on June 22, 2015, with a history of strict implementation of aircraft maintenance and stable technical condition.

"Before takeoff, the plane met maintenance requirements and airworthiness standards, so it got a normal clearance," he added.