Lightning Strikes Wuhan: Flight 343 Plummets to Death
Lightning didn't bring down Wuhan Airlines Flight 343. Not exactly. The Boeing 737 was struck on approach to Wuhan Tianhe Airport on June 22, 2000, but it was what happened next that killed 49 people — the aircraft broke apart and plunged into the Hanyang District below, scattering wreckage across a residential neighborhood. Investigators found the plane was already descending through severe thunderstorms. The lightning was the last thing. And the first thing nobody wanted to admit was that the flight should've waited.
June 22, 2000
26 years ago
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