All aboard survive Mexican plane crash
MEXICO CITY — An Aeromexico jetliner crashed while taking off during a severe storm in northern Mexico on Tuesday, smacking down in a field nearly intact then catching fire, but officials said everyone on board escaped alive.
Gov. Jose Aispuro announced late Tuesday that “no person has died.”
He said the pilot and one other person were in serious but stable condition. Earlier, he said a total of 49 people had been taken to hospitals, and officials said most had minor injuries.
“Fortunately we have now found all 103 — now we know where each one is — this gives us a lot of tranquility,” Aispuro said.
The federal government earlier said 101 people were on the Embraer 190, 97 passengers and four crew members. But the governor said two minors had not been included in the first tally.
The state civil defense office published photos of a burning but relatively intact plane lying on its belly in a field. Ambulances lined up at the site to ferry the injured to hospitals. The governor said some passengers got out under their power, and some even wandered back to the nearby airport of Durango city to find relatives.
Officials and witnesses differed on whether the plane either fell shortly after takeoff or ran off the runway without really gaining altitude. But they agreed the plane was trying to take off during a storm, with some describing marble-sized hail.
The governor said a gust of wind hit the plane shortly after it took off, causing the jet to lose speed and hit the ground with its left wing, knocking both engines loose. He said the plane skidded into a field in a horizontal position, which allowed escape slides to activate so all passengers and crew could escape before the plane caught fire.