国内英语新闻:Doubts surround China's plane crash probe

A source close to the pilot said he used to work for Shenzhen Airlines, the parent company of Henan Airlines, and resigned after he was demoted from captain to copilot. The man declined to be named.

"Frankly speaking, Qi's landing skills were so-so," said the source, who works at Mohe, another regional airport on China's northern border. "He became captain again at Henan Airlines."

Henan Airlines was previously known as Kunpeng Airlines. It flies smaller regional jets, mainly on routes in north and northeast China.

Li Jian, vice director of CAAC, defended Lindu Airport's safety standards late Wednesday, in response to speculations that inadequate facilities for night flights could have led to the disaster.

"It is no comparison to big airports but the safety standards are guaranteed," said Li.

He said the airport is built with the capacity to accommodate flights during the night.

But the airport has no fuel supplies and industry insiders say the plane has to be filled with enough fuel to cover the return trip, a possible reason for flames to spread fast.

Henan Airlines, for example, has only five jets, all ERJ-190.

"Because of their small fleet, smaller airlines companies tend to draw passengers with lower ticket prices. To meet their ends' meet, many buy regional planes -- which are often more risky and not as comfortable as jumbo jets -- and fly frequently at night," a source from civil aviation industry in Harbin told Xinhua.

The crashed jet might have flown some 6,000 km in 11 hours, taking off from Harbin at 8 a.m. and commuting to five regional airports in Mohe, Jiamusi, Jixi, Mudanjiang and Yichun, according to its schedule.

Had it landed safely in Yichun Tuesday night, it should have flown back to Harbin by 11 p.m.

It was the only jet to fly the routes every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Of Henan Airlines' remaining four ERJ-190 jets, three were in Zhengzhou and one was in Nanning, said Wu Zhenkun, a civil aviation spokesman in Henan Province. "The crashed jet is contracted on long term basis to Heilongjiang."

TOURISM BOOM

There was debate over the necessity for an airport in Yichun before construction began in 2008 -- the city was a five-hour bus ride from Harbin and two and a half hours from Jiamusi and both cities had airports already.

But last year's opening of Lindu airport has undoubtedly helped boosted tourism. And Friday will mark the first anniversary of its inauguration.

Yichun, known as China's "capital of woods" with over 80 percent of forest coverage, is an ideal summer resort for the Chinese from June to September.

Local residents said air tickets to Yichun are hard-won in summer and passengers needed to make reservation at least two days in advance to secure an economy class seat.

A night at a three-star hotel on the northern hills of the city, surrounded by virgin forests, costs nearly 1,000 yuan, five times its average price in winter, when the temperature falls below minus 20 degrees Celsius.