Taiwan was hit hard when Typhoon Soudelor made landfall this month. The mega-storm brought with it sustained 120 mph winds with some gusts topping 145 mph at the time it reached Japan. Videos of a China Airlines cargo airplane being repeatedly lifted off of the ground while riding out the storm have surfaced online.
From Popular Mechanics:
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This isn’t the first time a massive plane has been caught on video being rocked by heavy winds, but a stripped down shell doesn’t nearly compare to seeing a storm pick up a flight-ready cargo Boeing 747 that could weigh upwards of 970,000 lbs., and would still weigh in around 400,000 lbs. even without fuel or cargo.
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Depending on the weight, it typically takes as much as 180 mph to get a Boeing 747 airborne. But a lighter version could be lifted by airspeed as low as 130 mph, which is evident here by the bouncing nose wheel.
Next time, hopefully, our hero can find a home inside a hangar before the wrath of the gods rolls in.
