WeatherFanatics: Plane Crashes in Taiwan Amid Typhoon Matmo's Rain, Wind

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Plane Crashes in Taiwan Amid Typhoon Matmo's Rain, Wind

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist

July 23,2014; 6:07PM,EDT

See larger image below.

A plane carrying 58 people crashed in Taiwan Wednesday evening local time amid heavy rain and gusty winds from former Typhoon Matmo.
The plane which took off from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan was scheduled to make a domestic flight to Penghu's Magong Airport, located west of the main island of Taiwan, according to the Associated Press.
After failing to land on its first attempt the plane confirmed that make a second attempt at landing before contact was lost. However, the outer rain bands of Matmo were lashing the area with downpours and strong winds.

A radar image, courtesy of the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau, shows an intense rain band from Matmo moving over the crash area at the time of the crash, highlighted within the blue circle.
Torrential rainfall rates of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) per hour were occurring when contact was lost with the plane at 7:06 pm, local time. Wind gusts over 50 kph (30 mph) were also reported at this time.
The Associated Press reports that 47 of the people on board were trapped inside and feared dead while 11 others were injured.

Rescue workers survey the wreckage of TransAsia Airways flight GE222 which crashed while attempting to land in stormy weather on the Taiwanese island of Penghu, late Wednesday, July 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Wong Yao-wen)
As Matmo lashed Taiwan Tuesday into Wednesday, rainfall totals topped 300-600 mm (1-2 feet). Winds gusts exceeded 160 kph (100 mph) at the height of the storm.
Typhoon Matmo slams Hualien, Taiwan, on July 22, 2014. (YouTube Video/Jim Edds)

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