Mexico plane crash: Survivors recount horror of accident
MEXICO CITY/FRANKFURT: Dozens of people were injured when a packed Aeromexico-operated Embraer jet crashed right after takeoff in Mexico’s state of Durango on Tuesday, but authorities said most were not seriously hurt and there were no fatalities.
The mid-sized jet was almost full, with 97 passengers and four crew members, when it came down at around 4 pm local time, airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte said in a statement.
Passenger Jackeline Flores told reporters the plane came down in heavy rain. She and her daughter escaped from a hole in the fuselage as the aircraft filled up with smoke and flames, she said.
“A little girl who left the plane was crying because her legs were burned,” said Flores, who did not give the spelling of her name and said she was Mexican but lived in Bogota, Colombia. The plane had barely left the ground in heavy rain when it came down, she said.
Flores said her passport and documents burned in the fire.
“I feel blessed and grateful to God,” she said.
TV images showed the severely damaged body of the plane after it came to rest in scrubland and a column of smoke rose into the sky.
The aircraft made an emergency landing about 10 km from the airport, said a spokesman for the state’s civil protection agency.
He said in an interview that around 85 people had suffered mostly light injuries, adding that the fire resulting from the accident had been put out. The civil protection agency said 37 people were hospitalised, while the state health department said two passengers were in a critical condition. “Many managed to leave the plane on foot,” he said.
The airport operator attributed the crash to bad weather, citing preliminary reports.
STRONGER PLANES CAN MEAN FEWER DEATHS
Passengers in plane crashes like the Aeromexico accident — in which no one died — have better chances of survival due to better aircraft construction and safety standards, experts say.
Air safety investigator Adrian Young, from the Netherlandsbased consultancy To70, said on Wednesday that crash survival rates “are higher than they have ever been” in part because “airplanes are stronger than ever.”
People are now less likely to be trapped by collapsed seats and floors, especially if the plane comes to rest more or less level and the accident occurs on flat ground and at lower speeds, as in the crash in northern Mexico.