General Administration of Civil Aviation ordered all of China's airlines to checked their MD aircraft. There are nearly 50 MDs operating in China, which include MD-11s, MD-90s, and MD-82s.

These types of inspections are common after aircraft disasters. The inspection followed a call by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The Alaska Airlines MD-80 crashed off the coast of California on Jan. 31st, killing all 83 passengers and five crew members. On Feb 6th, another Alaska Airlines MD-80 was forced to land because of a fire in the tail section.

A US government inspection of more than a thousand airliners revealed a variety of problems including a jackscrew and nut that move the horizontal stabiliser of that particular aircraft.