The Accident
On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006, a scheduled international passenger flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Los Angeles International Airport via Chiang Kai-shek International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, was involved in a fatal accident. The aircraft operating the flight was a Boeing 747-400. At 23:18 Taipei local time, the aircraft attempted to take off from the wrong runway at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport during a typhoon.
Collision with Construction Equipment
During the takeoff attempt, the aircraft crashed into construction equipment present on the runway. The collision resulted in the deaths of 83 of the 179 people aboard. Ninety-eight occupants initially survived the accident; however, two passengers later died from injuries sustained in the hospital.
Significance
This accident was the first fatal crash involving a Boeing 747-400 and also the first fatal accident in the history of Singapore Airlines.