A plane with 103 people on board crashed on Tuesday afternoon seconds after takeoff
The Aeromexico passenger flight, travelling from Guadalupe Victoria International Airport in Durango to Mexico City, crashed at around 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) due to adverse weather conditions.
State Governor José Rosas Aispuro has stated the cause of the accident is believed to be a gust of wind that hit the aircraft and causing it to lose speed and begin a sudden descent. The left wing then hit the ground, before both engines came loose.
Officials and witnesses have reported that the plane attempted to take off during a storm, with some describing hail the size of marbles.
The plane reportedly made it off the ground but fell nose first into the runway just a few hundred yards from the end.
Passengers were able to jump from the plane and escape before it caught fire.
Mexico Plane Crash:
– Aeromexico flight 2432 crashes in Durango, Mexico
– 101 people on board
– Governor says no deaths, but injuries reported
– Crash occurred shortly after takeoff
– Plane was an Embraer 190 pic.twitter.com/CfVRUHvu0L— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) July 31, 2018
Passenger Jacqueline Flores described the incident to AFP News Agency:
“When we were already aloft, up high, it felt like the plane was going to level out but just then 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.
“I undid my seatbelt and saw flames, and realised we had to jump. There was a hole right next to us where the plane had broken up. I told my girl, ‘We have to jump over here’, and we jumped,” she explained.
Corporaciones de emergencia y seguridad se encuentran en el km17 de la autopista Durango – Torreón atendiendo accidente de la aeronave, cede el paso a los vehículos de emergencia 🚨 pic.twitter.com/XR75WuMlai
— PROTECCIÓN CIVIL DURANGO (@CEPCDurango) July 31, 2018
One of the plane’s pilots was seriously injured in the crash and is currently being treated in hospital after an emergency operation on his spine. A young girl has been treated for burns.
