Wuhan Airlines Flight 343

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.

Wuhan Airlines Flight 343
A Y-7 similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
DateJune 22, 2000
SummaryLightning strike
SiteHanyang District, Wuhan, China
Total fatalities49 (7 on the ground)[1]
Aircraft
Aircraft typeXian Y-7
OperatorWuhan Airlines
RegistrationB-3479
Flight originEnshi Airport
DestinationWuhan Wangjiadun Airport
Passengers38[1]
Crew4[1]
Fatalities42[1]
Survivors0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities7[1]
Location of Hubei in China

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.[1]

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.[1]

Weather stations recorded 451 thunderclaps in ten minutes during the 30 minute period the aircraft was circling above the airport.[1] At approximately 15:00 local time,[2] the aircraft was impacted by windshear[1] and struck by lightning,[3] before it crashed in Sitai Village, Yongfeng Township.[1] 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.[1]

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.[1]

Cause

The cause was determined to be the adverse weather the aircraft encountered, specifically the lightning strike.[4]

See also

References
External image
Image gallery of crash site of B-3479
  1. "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  2. "Air Crash Killing 42 in Central China's Wuhan". People's Daily. June 23, 2000. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  3. "42 die after lightning strikes Chinese plane". The Independent. June 22, 2000. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  4. "Accident details". PlaneCrashInfo.com. Retrieved January 1, 2011.

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