Aeronaves de Mexico

Douglas DC-3

Shortly after takeoff from La Paz-Manuel Márquez de León Airport, while climbing, one of the engine failed. The pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that stalled and crashed in a residential area. Three crew members and two people on the ground were killed while 25 other occupants were injured.

Douglas DC-8

The approach to Mexico City-Benito Juárez Airport was completed by night. In poor visibility, the pilot-in-command failed to realize his altitude was too low and led the aircraft pass below the glide until it struck the ground. At impact, the undercarriage were torn off and the airplane broke in two before coming to rest in the Texcoco dry lake. All 109 occupants were rescued, 28 of them were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Douglas DC-8

After an uneventful scheduled flight from New York, U.S.A. to Acapulco, Mexico, with an intermediate stop at Mexico City, the aircraft arrived at Acapulco International Airport at 0012 hours local time. It was then serviced and refuelled and took off from runway 10 at approximately 0114 hours on a local crew training flight. At about 0150 hours the aircraft reported over the station at 16 000 ft and requested clearance from the tower to carry out a simulated descent. Clearance was granted and the aircraft was instructed to report at 6 000 ft overhead which it did and was seen by the tower controller who then requested it to report on procedure turn. The aircraft reported on procedure turn at 2 500 ft and this was the last message received. At approximately 0215 hours explosions were heard and a fire was reported southeast of the airport. The wreckage was found on the slope of Mt El Salado, about 33 km from Acapulco Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all six crew members were killed.

Bristol Britannia

Following an uneventful flight from Mexico City, the crew started the descent to Tijuana-Rodriguez Airport when he encountered technical difficulties with one main gear that was not locked down. The captain decided to follow a holding pattern over Tijuana but few minutes later, he was forced to land due to fuel shortage. Upon touchdown, one of the main gear collapsed. The airplane slid for several dozen yards before coming to rest. While all 82 occupants were evacuated safely, the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

Douglas DC-8

The first approximate 6,200 feet of takeoff roll was observed by control tower personnel, visually, until the aircraft was lost to view by obscuring snow, approximately 3,800 feet from the control tower. They stated that at that time the aircraft had not taken off or rotated. Another tower controller observed the aircraft by airport surface-detection *** radar from the start of its roll to the eastern end of runway 7R, where it disappeared from view. A few seconds later he observed a bright orange flash on the sky northeast of the airport. He could not tell if the aircraft left the runway. Emergency procedures were started immediately by the controllers and an unsuccessful attempt was made to contact the flight on the departure radio frequency. Captain Poe was the only survivor of the four cockpit occupants. He stated as follows: The checklist was accomplished normally. The runway condition was good and everything apparently occurred in a routine manner through the 100-knot time check when the first officer called out "***" (Spanish for 100). Upon reaching approximately 130 knots (the V1 speed) the first officer called out V1 and VR rapid succession. The aircraft was then rotated quickly and somewhat excessively. Poe did not see the airspeed go over 130 knots and as rotation started he saw the airspeed start to drop back quite rapidly to about 110 knots. At this time the Aeronaves captain called or pointed to the airspeed indicator. Poe felt that the aircraft could not become airborne under these conditions and that the runway remaining was not long enough to put the nose back down to start the takeoff again from that speed. His only choice, so he stated, was to try to get the aircraft stopped on the runway. Poe unfastened his safety belt, stood to gauge progress down the runway, moved forward, shoved the throttles forward briefly, noted a normal and uniform response from the engine instruments (the EPR gauges were reading normally from 2.52 to 2.54), and then pulled the throttles full back. Captain Gonzales "immediately" pulled the reverse throttles back into reverse thrust and used wheel brakes. Poe extended the spoilers and then sat down on the jump seat without refastening his seat belt. He believes that the aircraft did not take off Whether it did or not wall be discussed later in this report. Poe's actions would have taken about three seconds, an shown by later test. The aircraft continued ahead the full length of the 10,000-foot runway, beyond it, through a blast fence, 3 catching on fire, through the airport boundary fence, and across Rockaway Boulevard where it struck an automobile injuring the driver and sole occupant. After going through the blast fence, many parts were shed before the aircraft came to rest in flames 830 feet beyond the end of the runway. Emergency vehicles from the airport and of the New York Fire Department were quickly started for the scene. Although impeded somewhat by weather conditions, they reached it within about six minutes and extinguished the fire. Evacuation and rescue of the occupants had already been effected in a total time of about five minutes, although most persons were out of the wreckage and away from the fire site in half this time. Many of the survivors were taken to hospital in privately owned vehicles. Destruction of the aircraft was extensive.

Lockheed L-749 Constellation

The aircraft took off from Guadalajara Airport on a scheduled flight to Mexico City, carrying 38 passengers and a crew of 7. It did not follow the established climb-out procedure and crashed at approximately 2206 hours local time against La Latilla mountain, approximately 13 km from the radio beacon west of Guadalajara Airport, killing all persons aboard.

Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (DC-3)

On approach to Monterrey-Del Norte Airport, the airplane crashed on the Friars Peak located 16 km north of the airfield. All 18 occupants were killed.

Avro 652 Anson

During the takeoff roll, the aircraft caught fire for unknown reason and came to rest. All seven occupants were injured while the aircraft was destroyed.

Travel Air 6000

The airplane crashed for unknown reasons upon landing at Acapulco Airport. The female passenger and the pilot were slightly injured. This was the first accident involving Aeronaves de Mexico that was created the day prior to the accident on September 14, 1934.