Monterrey – Chihuahua – Hermosillo – Tijuana

On July 27, 1981 at 04:28 PM, Monterrey – Chihuahua – Hermosillo – Tijuana experienced a crash involving Douglas DC-9, operated by AeroMéxico, with the event recorded near Chihuahua-General Roberto Fierro Villalobos Chihuahua.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

66 people were known to be on board, 32 fatalities were recorded, 34 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 48.5%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 60, passenger fatalities: 30, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. On approach to Chihuahua-General Roberto Fierro Villalobos Airport, the crew encountered bad weather conditions with heavy rain falls, thunderstorms and strong winds. On short final, just prior to flare, the airplane was caught by downdrafts and struck the runway surface. It bounced then veered off runway to the right. The airplane rolled for few dozen meters then came to rest in flames, broken in two. 34 occupants were injured while 32 others were killed, among them two crew members. At the time of the accident, there was thunderstorms in the approach path with heavy rain falls and wind gusting to 54 knots.

Aircraft reference details include registration XA-DEN, MSN 47621, year of manufacture 1974.