Summary Lightning strike Crew 4 Aircraft type Xian Y-7 Operator Wuhan Airlines Survivor 0 Location Hanyang District | Passengers 38 Survivors 0 Date 22 June 2000 Fatalities 49 (7 on the ground) Passenger count 38 | |
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Site Hanyang District, Wuhan, China Similar Kenya Airways Flight 431, Philippine Airlines Flight 812, Hapag‑Lloyd Flight 3378, Alliance Air Flight 7412, 2000 Australia Beechcra | ||
Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight between Enshi Airport and Wuhan Wangjiadun Airport, both in Hubei province, Central China. On June 22, 2000, the Wuhan Airlines Xian Y-7, registration B-3479, flying the route crashed after encountering an area of adverse weather; the aircraft was struck by lightning and encountered windshear.
Contents
Immediately after the accident, China ordered all of Wuhan Airlines' Xian Y-7 aircraft be grounded. One month after the accident, they were allowed to resume service. The cause was determined to be the adverse weather the aircraft encountered, specifically the lightning strike.
The accident remains the deadliest involving a Xian Y-7 aircraft, and is today the 12th deadliest aviation accident in the history of China.
History
The Wuhan Airlines Xian Y-7 aircraft departed Enshi Airport, on June 22, 2000, for a flight to Wuhan Wangjiadun Airport. As the aircraft approached Wuhan, the flight crew were informed of adverse weather conditions in the area of the airport. The flight crew circled the airport for approximately 30 minutes, waiting for the weather to improve; during this time they debated whether to divert to another airport, but the pilot decided to continue to try and land at Wuhan.
Weather stations recorded 451 thunderclaps in ten minutes during the 30 minute period the aircraft was circling above the airport. At approximately 1500 local time, the aircraft was impacted by windshear and struck by lightning, before it crashed in Sitai Village, Yongfeng Township. The fuselage came down between 20 kilometres (12 mi) and 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Wuhan in two sections; half of the aircraft fell on a dike on the Han River, the other half impacted with a farmhouse. All 40 passengers and four crew were killed, along with seven people on the ground.
Grounding of Xian Y-7 aircraft
In the aftermath of the accident, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) ordered all Wuhan Airlines' six other Xian Y-7 aircraft be grounded until the cause of the crash was determined. In July they were permitted to return to service after safety inspections were carried out and flight crews received more training. The CAAC ordered all Xian Y-7 aircraft be removed from scheduled passenger service by June 1, 2001.
Cause
The cause was determined to be the adverse weather the aircraft encountered, specifically the lightning strike.