Sometimes, weather plays a big role in air disasters...Hong Kong, China..China Airlines Flight 642 took off from Old Bangkok International Airport (now Don Mueang International Airport) in Thailand to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong operated by China Airlines' subsidiary Mandarin Airlines. The flight was supposed to fly onward to Taipei after the stop at Hong Kong. Due to a severe weather situation at Hong Kong, the flight crew had prepared to divert the flight directly to Taipei if the situation at Hong Kong was deemed unsuitable for landing. Approaching Hong Kong and after initial weather and wind check being passed from the airport, the crew believed that it could land there and thus decided against a diversion. Before the arrival of flight 642, four flights carried out missed approaches, five diverted and twelve landed successfully. What nobdy knew was that Tropical Storm Sam was battering Hong Kong with winds of more than 100 kph (60 mph). there had been problems with wind shear for most of the day at the airport. Keep in mind that there were 9 accidents involving windshear including... Eastern Airlines Flight 66, John F. Kennedy International Airport - June 24, 1975 Pan Am Flight 759, Miami International Airport - July 9, 1982 Delta Airlines Flight 191, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport - August 2, 1985 Martinair Flight 495, Faro Airport - December 21, 1992 USAir Flight 1016, Charlotte/Douglas International Airport - July 2, 1994 Goodyear Blimp, Coral Springs, Florida - June 16, 2005 Air France Flight 358, Toronto Pearson International Airport - August 2, 2005 ( Althoguh it ran off the end of Runway 24L; radio reports say that this crash was eerily reminiscent of the Delta 191 crash) And more recently=One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269, Phuket International Airport - September 16, 2007 Before the crash of Flight 642, numerous flights had been canceled, delayed or diverted. But the airport remained open. Officials refused to speculate on the role the weather might have played in the crash, saying only that the decision to operate in such conditions was up to each airline. At about 6:43 P.M. on 22 August 1999, B-150, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was making its final approach when Typhoon Sam was 50 km NE of the airport with maximum reported wind speeds of 140 km/h (85 mph). At an altitude of 700 feet prior to touchdown a further wind check was passed to the crew: 320 deg/28 knots gusting to 36 knots. It should be noted that maximum crosswind component limit for the aircraft was 24 knots. The crew neglected this and continued the landing. During the final flare to land, the plane banked on its right, landed hard on its right main gear and the no. 3 engine touched the runway. The right main gear and the right wing separated. The plane rolled upside down and skidded off the runway in flames. When it stopped, it was on its back and the rear of the plane was on fire, coming to rest on a grass area next to the runway, 1100 m from the runway threshold. The right wing was found on a taxiway 90 meters from the nose of the plane. As shown in photos of the aircraft at rest, the fire caused significant damage to the rear section of the aircraft but was quickly extinguished due to the heavy rain and quick response from rescue teams in the airport. Three of the 300 passengers died; all crew members survived. A group of people in an automobile filmed the crash of China Airlines Flight 642; several websites display the video and the audible commentary by the occupants of the car. Passengers and eyewitnesses said the jet lurched sharply as it landed. One wing hit the ground, then the plane flipped over and burst into flames. "There was thick smoke inside," said one survivor. "Everyone was worried. The lights were out. The plane was upside down. It was very chaotic." Hong Kong emergency services were on the scene almost immediately. "Within one minute, the first fire engine arrived on the scene. Within 15 minutes, the fire was put out," said Regina Yip, Hong Kong's secretary for security. Even with the aircraft on its back, passengers were evacuated with surprising speed. The injured -- some suffering from severe burns -- were taken to nearby hospitals. The final report of the accident blamed it mainly on pilot error But immediately after the crash, the airport -- a new multibillion dollar facility that opened just over a year ago -- was shut down, stranding thousands of travelers.