A Difficult Cabin Announcement

Photograph shows a Mandarin Airlines flight taxiing past the charred remains of a crashed airliner?

This is a genuine photograph depicting the aftermath of Mandarin Airlines Flight 642 from Bangkok to Hong Kong, which crashed upon landing on 22 August 1999. The plane, an MD-11, encountered a 24-knot crosswind coincident with Typhoon Sam and came down too hard on its right side, causing the No. 3 engine to hit the runway and the right wing to separate from the fuselage. The MD-11 rolled over and slid off the runway upside down, bursting into flame and grinding to a halt on a grassy area adjacent to the runway.

Remarkably, there were only three fatalities among of the 300 passengers and 15 crew members aboard the flight.