"As one of the co-investigators of the air accident, we have not been informed about any conclusions," said an anonymous CAAC source.

As a result, he said, CAAC cannot inform China Northern Airlines, the operator of the crashed passenger jet, about the investigation's conclusions.

Though the source said the investigation is being intensely pursued, there are still no formal results available.

On May 7, a China Northern Airlines MD-11 passenger jet crashed into the water near the coast of Dalian, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, killing all 112 people on board.

The General Manager of China Northern Airlines Jiang Lianying reportedly said on Tuesday that top investigation officials had said his airline was not responsible for the accident.

Jiang said the vice-director of the State Administration of Working Safety Shan Chunchang had confirmed that the mechanical conditions of the crashed plane were sound, and the pilots' qualification and health conditions had all been in line with requirements.

Shan's comments showed that negligence on the part of China Northern Airlines was not a reason for the accident, Jiang said.

A China Northern Airlines official, who gave only her surname Wu, told the media in a telephone interview that they had heard Shan's comments from a TV news program, but not through documents or direct notification.

"Our general manager just quoted Shan's words from the TV program, and we have not received any formal message about the investigation so far," Wu said.

(China Daily August 3, 2002)