China Airlines Flight 611's Mystery Crash

On the way from Taiwan to Hong Kong on May 25, 2002, a China Airlines–operated Boeing 747 broke up at approximately 35,000 feet. The crash killed all 225 people on board and inspired theories in the media that the flight had been shot down by the Chinese military. Investigation into the accident determined the actual cause to have been metal fatigue caused by improper maintenance after a tail-strike incident 22 years earlier.