Chicagoan on Mexico flight: ‘It’s not every day you kind of fall from the sky’
DURANGO, Mexico — It began with a strong burst of wind and pounding hail that pummeled the Aeromexico jetliner minutes after takeoff in northern Mexico, then sent it smashing bellydown onto a field near the runway.
Frightened passengers scrambled to flee as flames and blinding black smoke erupted around them. Miraculously, all 103 on board survived the crash Tuesday.
On Wednesday, passengers described the terrifying sequence of events.
“It’s not every day you kind of fall from the sky and live to tell about it,” said Alberto Herrera, 35, a webpage engineer from Chicago.
The pilot suffered a serious neck injury. Forty-eight others were also injured, and 22 remained hospitalized Wednesday.
Herrera said the skies were sunny as passengers boarded the flight from Durango to Mexico City Tuesday afternoon and the violent storm seemed to come from nowhere.
“When we were sitting on the plane, there was a little drizzle, but nothing to worry about. It was just a little light rain, super light, like barely hitting the windows,” Herrera said.
One passenger was Des Plaines priest the Very Rev. Esequiel Sanchez, who spoke to reporters Wednesday from his Durango hospital room. He was scheduled for surgery for fractures in his arm.
“Do I consider this a miracle? Absolutely I have no doubt in my heart,” Sanchez said. “If the plane was any faster, it would have flipped. If the plane was any higher, the story would be different.
“It felt like we did take off,” he said. “The plane did actually get off the ground. Then, I think it might have been a microburst that pushed the airplane back down because the plane came down. The landing gear buckled under the airplane.”
Durango state Gov. Jose Aispuro said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash.