INT: Weather Causes Plane Crash in Thailand

A plane crash in Phuket, Thailand killed 90 people yesterday when the plane went off the runway and caught fire while landing during a heavy thunderstorm. The airline's president is saying that wind shear (rapid changes in wind speed and direction with height) is the likely culprit. Xinhua says"Weather in Phuket has been bad for several days, with thunderstorms and high wind gusts at times."

Official observations from the Phuket airport - VTSP (LIVE | PREMIUM | PRO | ARCHIVED) indicated heavy rain around midnight and 1 PM yesterday but sustained winds were not reported above 25 mph at the station (wind gusts are not reported).

NASA's TRMM Satellite shows that 4-5 inches of rain fell during the last 24 hours in the area (see above). Find out how to get this KML into Google Earth to view the data yourself.

Thai rescuers remove an injured passenger from a plane crash site at Phuket International Airport Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007, in Phuket, Thailand. The budget One-Two-Go Airlines flight was carrying 123 passengers and seven crew from Bangkok to Phuket when it skidded off a runway while landing in driving wind and rain, catching fire and engulfing some passengers in flames. The crash killed 90 people, mostly foreigners. (AP Photo/ Daily News)