China`s biggest ever plane crash in 1994 involved a Russia-made Tupolev plane

The Tupolev Tu-154 crash remains the deadliest airplane crash ever in the mainland China killing all 160 passengers on board.

On March 21, a Boeing 737 plane carrying 132 passengers crashed in China's Guangxi province. This is the first major accident reported in China after 2010 when 44 of 96 people were killed on board an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines.

However, it was in 1994 that China reported its worst-ever flight crash, killing all 160 passengers on board. The flight was operated by the China Northwest Airlines and involved a Tupolev Tu-154 flying from Xian to Guangzhou, ranking as China's worst-ever air disaster, according to Aviation Safety Network.

The flights crashed as a result of an autopilot malfunction that caused violent shaking and overstressed the airframe, breaking the plane in half, killing everyone on board. The Tupolev Tu-154 crash remains the deadliest airplane crash ever in mainland China.

Not just 1994, in 1999, another Tupolev Ty-154 crashed operated by China Southwest Airlines bearing flight 4509 (SZ4509). The domestic flight from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Sichuan to Wenzhou Yongqiang Airport, Zhejiang crashed while on approach to Wenzhou Airport, killing all 61 passengers. 

Chinese authorities banned the Russian jetmaker in early 2000 after series of fatal crashes. According to the Aviation Safety Network, China's air safety record has been among the best in the world over the past decade.

The 737-800 model that crashed on Monday has a good safety record and is the predecessor to the 737 MAX model that has been grounded in China for more than three years following fatal crashes in 2018 in Indonesia and 2019 in Ethiopia.

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