97 HURT IN MEXICO PLANE CRASH
Aeromexico flight ‘plunged to the ground’ just after takeoff
AN Aeromexico flight crashed on takeoff during a heavy hailstorm in northern Mexico, engulfing the plane in flames and injuring 97 people, officials said on Tuesday.
The Embraer 190 aircraft, which was operating between here and Mexico City and crashed in the afternoon, was carrying “88 adults, nine minors, two infants, two pilots and two flight attendants”, the airline’s director-general, Andres Conesa, said.
“It is confirmed that there have been no deaths from the flight #AM2431 accident,” tweeted Jose Rosas, the governor of Durango state.
The accident did cause two serious injuries: a pilot had to undergo a spinal operation and a young girl suffered burns on 25 per cent of her body, the governor said.
Durango civil defence spokesman Alejandro Cardoza said the plane was caught in a heavy hailstorm and the pilots tried to make an emergency landing, after which the fire broke out.
Conesa thanked the crew “for their professionalism” and said that the aircraft “was perfectly maintained”.
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer announced the dispatch of a team to investigate the crash.
“We were on the runway when visibility worsened,” 47-year-old Jacqueline Flores, who was travelling with her 16-year-old daughter, said.
“When we were already aloft, up high, it felt like the plane was going to level out, but that’s when it plunged to the ground.
“I think we fell back on the runway because it was a hard surface, then we skidded on the ground until it stopped,” added the Durango native.
With the plane on the ground amid some bushes and brush, Flores said luggage began sliding down the aisle and she started to smell smoke.
“I undid my seatbelt and saw flames, and realised we had to jump (out of the plane).”
According to Rosas, the passengers helped each other quickly evacuate the aircraft through the openings in the cabin caused by the accident.