Mexican Government Learjet 45 plane crash
Mexico City, Mexico
Updated on
The Learjet 45 belonging to the Mexican Government departed San Luis Potosí, Mexico, on a flight to Mexico City, Mexico. Six passengers (including high
official from the Mexican government) and three crewmember were onboard. The airplane crashed while it was approaching Mexico on the street and caught
fire. All the nine people onboard were killed. Several cars were destroyed and five people on the ground were killed.
The flight was uneventful until the approach on Mexico. At that moment, the business jet was instructed to switch to the Tower frequency which the pilot
acknowledged but never contacted Mexico Tower. The flight was observed approaching runway 05L before radar contact was lost several miles away from the
airport, at an altitude of 9700 feet (2950 meters). The plane dived into rush-hour traffic, narrowly missing high-rise office buildings full of workers.
The plane crashed on Avenida Reforma and burst into flames. Cars were flipped over and the side of a building was charred. 14 people died in the accident,
including 5 fatalities on ground.
A hypothesis is already evoked to explain this accident: as the Learjet 45 was trailing a Boeing 767-300 during its approach, the plane may have been
destabilized by the wake turbulences.
