[1] The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 (registration B-150), was still carrying Mandarin Airlines' livery from its time of service with the carrier.

[5]: 9–13 [8] At about 6:43 P.M. local time (10:43 UTC) on 22 August 1999, the MD-11 was making its final approach to runway 25L when Tropical Storm Sam was 50 kilometres (31 mi; 27 nmi) NE of the airport.

[10] A total of 219 people, including crewmembers, were admitted to hospital, of whom 50 were seriously injured and 153 sustained minor injuries.

[5]: 7 The final report of the accident blamed it mainly on pilot error, specifically the inability to arrest the high rate of descent existing at 50 feet (15 m) altitude on the radar altimeter.

[citation needed] The flight data stored in the volatile memory of the aircraft's Quick Access Recorder (QAR) during the last 500 feet (150 m) of the approach could not be recovered due to the interruption of the power supply at impact.

Based on the initial weather and wind check which was passed along to the crew from Hong Kong during the flight, they believed they could land there and decided against a diversion to Taipei.

[citation needed] During the final approach, the plane descended along the Instrument Landing System (ILS) glideslope until at about 700 feet (210 m), the crew visually acquired the runway.

[5] However, China Airlines disputed the report's findings on the flight crews' actions, citing the weather conditions at the time of the accident and claimed that the aircraft flew into a microburst just before landing, causing it to crash.

[11] The landing and crash of Flight 642 was recorded by nearby occupants in a car which also captured their reactions from the witnesses.

[12][better source needed] A photo showing a Mandarin Airlines MD-11 taxiing past the remains of Flight 642 was circulated.