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900 scattered, measured 4400 overcast, visibility 8 miles, thunderstorm, light rain, temperature 44, dew point 43, wind west-southwest 10 knots, thunderstorm began at 2054, thunderstorm west, movement unknown, lightning in cloud, cloud to ground west-northwest-northwest.
The Wilmington 2000 report had indicated a frontal passage at 1931.
The weather in the holding pattern area as described by the first officer of Flight 16 was cloudy, with comparatively smooth air, and the ground lights were occasionally visible through breaks in the clouds. The crew of this flight observed a lightning strike on their aircraft while in the holding pattern. Later examination of the aircraft revealed evidence of lightning damage to the left wing tip an the empennage.
Of the 140 ground witnesses interviewed, 99 reported sighting an aircraft or flaming object in the sky. Seventy-two of these witnesses saw lightning and seven stated they saw the lightning strike the aircraft. Three other persons saw a ball of fire appear at the fork or one end of the lightning stroke. Seventy-two witnesses indicated that the ball of fire appeared concurrent with or immediately following the lightning stroke. Twenty-seven saw fire preceded by lightning with a very short interval before the fire was visible. Twenty-three witnesses observed an explosion in connection with the aircraft in flight after fire was observed. Thirty-eight mentioned an explosion at impact.
Additionally, 28 witnesses saw objects fall from the aircraft in flight and 48 described portions of the aircraft they observed to be in flames.
Nearly 600 pieces of wreckage were strewn outside the main impact crater in an area approximately four miles long and one mile wide. The long axis of this area was on a bearing of 255 degrees true from the easterly end through the impact crater near the westerly end. However, there were two distinct wreckage paths and three concentrations in this area.
One of these was a straight path about 1,500 feet wide and two miles long. It included the wreckage farthest from the main crater and consisted of nearly all the pieces of the left outer wing panel, notable exceptions being the inboard portions of the outer panel rear spar and aileron. The bearing of this path was 250 degrees from its easterly end toward the impact crater, however, westerly extension of the path centerline passed approximately 2,500 feet south of the crater. The farthest piece of wreckage was approximately 19,600 feet and the nearest in this path 8,200 feet from the main impact crater. The density of these pieces varied from low to high processing westerly along the 250-degree path.
Nearly all of the remaining scattered wreckage was strung out along a slightly curved path with a width of about 600 feet near the crater and a track of about 220 degrees to the crater in this area. Continuing easterly the path, except for a concentration of five pieces of wreckage about 4,500 feet east-northeast of the crater, did not exceed 1,000 feet in width within 11,000 feet of the crater, at which point its track was about 255 degrees. At 16,000 feet from the crater it was approximately 2,200 feet wide and its tract was about 270 degrees. The most easterly
