Passengers 'grateful to God' after plane crashes in Mexico with no deaths (updated)

Grupo Aeroportuario Del Centro Norte SAB De CV

31/07/2018 23:10

(Updates number of people on plane, adds more on accident
record, Aeromexico, pilots association quote, US investigation
team, paragraphs 2, 8-12, 17, 19, 21-24, 26)
    By Lizbeth Diaz and Julia Love
    MEXICO CITY, July 31 (Reuters) - Dozens of people were
injured when a packed Aeromexico-operated  AEROMEX.MX  Embraer
 EMBR3.SA  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 103 people including
two infants and four crew members on board, when it crashed at
about 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), authorities said. Passengers
and crew jumped to safety before the plane was engulfed in
flames. 
    Passenger Jackeline Flores told reporters the plane crashed
shortly after taking off 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 said she was Mexican but
lived in Bogota, Colombia.
    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 plane had barely taken off when it felt like it was hit
by a strong air current, another passenger told network
Televisa.
    Durango Governor José Rosas Aispuro also said a gust of wind
rocked the plane before it plunged suddenly, citing air traffic
control at the airport. The plane's left wing hit the ground,
knocking off two engines, before it came to a halt 300 meters
(328 yards) from the runway, he told a news conference.
    Passengers were able to escape on the plane's emergency
slides before it was engulfed in flames, he said. The pilot was
the most severely hurt but was in a stable condition. 
    Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte,  OMAB.MX  the airport
operator, also attributed the crash to bad weather, citing
preliminary reports. 
    Aeromexico said in a statement: "We deeply regret this
accident. The families of all those affected are in our thoughts
and in our hearts."
    
    LIGHT INJURIES
    Alejandro Cardoza, a spokesman for the state's civil
protection agency, said in an interview that around 85 people
had suffered mostly light injuries and that the fire had been
put out.
    The civil protection agency said 37 people were
hospitalized, while the state health department said two
passengers were in a critical condition.
    "Many managed to leave the plane on foot," Cardoza said.
    The head of Mexico's civil aviation agency, Luis Gerardo
Fonseca, said it could take months to know the cause of the
crash. He told Televisa the plane's voice and data recorders
would be recovered once rescue efforts were completed. 
    The United States will send two people to assist the Mexican
investigative team, a U.S aviation official said.
    Flight number 2431 was an Embraer 190 bound for Mexico City
when it crashed, Aeromexico said on Twitter. A spokesman for the
Mexican airline declined to disclose the passenger list or the
nationalities of those on board.
    Among the passengers was Chicago-born priest Esequiel
Sanchez of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to a
statement by the Archdiocese of Chicago.
    A U.S. embassy spokesman said he did not currently have
confirmation of whether any American citizens were involved in
the incident. 
    Aeromexico has not had any fatal crashes in the past 10
years.
    A Mexican pilots association said last year there were 66
accidents and 173 incidents in Mexican aviation, saying the
number was "worrying" and calling for more supervision of flying
schools, more funds for maintenance and oversight of fleets, and
shorter flying hours for pilots.
    The Embraer 190 was involved in one fatal crash when a Henan
Airlines flight overshot a Chinese runway in 2010 and another in
Africa in 2013 when a LAM Airlines pilot deliberately crashed
the plane during a hostage-taking incident, according to a
summary by the Aviation Safety Network. 
    Embraer has delivered more than 1,400 E-Jets. 
    Aeromexico leased the 10-year-old aircraft involved in
Tuesday's incident from Republic Airlines in the United States
in 2014, according to data on Planespotters.net.
    Embraer said late on Tuesday it had sent a team of
technicians to the scene of the accident and stood ready to
support the investigation. The aircraft, the serial number of
which was 190-173, was delivered in May 2008, the company said
in a statement.

 (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, Adriana Barrera, Diego Oré, Noe
Torres and Michael O'Boyle
Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago
Witing by Julia Love
Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Paul Tait)
 ((Julia.Love@thomsonreuters.com, @byJuliaLove; 52 (55)
5282-7131;))