So these are plane crashes from around the world, but it's only for the countries that had a true crime case, if you don't see a plane crash in here, check my True crime from around the world book.
Warning, this book contains plane crashes and the a...
This plane crash takes us to the country of Mexico, which is located next to the following countries: United States, Belize and Guatemala.
WARNINGS OF A PLANE CRASH
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Pictured above is a similar type of aircraft that was involved in this crash.
Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940 was a scheduled international flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles with stopovers in Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán. On March 31st, 1986, the aircraft serving the route, a Boeing 727-200 registered as XA-MEM (Xray Alpha- Mike Echo Mike), crashed into El Carbón, a mountain in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range northwest of Mexico City, killing everyone on board. With 167 deaths, the crash of Flight 940 is the deadliest aviation disaster ever on Mexican soil, and the deadliest involving a Boeing 727.
An inquiry was opened by the Mexican government with additional assistance from the National Transportation Safety Board. The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by an explosion that originated in the wheel well. The wheel had overheated during the take-off run as it had suffered high drag on the ground, which was caused by faulty brakes. Fire ensued as the explosion ignited the fuel and hydraulic liquids, causing the fire to quickly grow. The aircraft suffered structural failure, due to the severity of the fire causing a large area of the fuselage to melt, and crashed onto the side of the mountain.
The aircraft involved in the crash was a Boeing 727-200 with a msn number of 22414. Built in 1981, it was initially planned to be delivered to Braniff International Airways before it was sent to Mexicana. The aircraft had accrued a total flying time of 13,675 hours and a total of 10,252 flight cycles. The last major maintenance check was conducted in the previous year. The engines, three JT8D-17R from Pratt & Whitney, were in good condition.
The aircraft carried a total of 167 passengers and crews. Of those, a total of 147 passengers (139 passengers and 8 crew members) were from Mexico. Spanish newspaper El País reported that there were at least 20 foreigners on board, with eight from France, six from the United States, four from Sweden, and two from Canada. The French embassy later confirmed that at least 8 passengers of its nationals were on board, all from a single family. The Swedish Embassy stated that one of its staff and her children were on board the flight. According to UPI, there were 22 children aboard the flight.
The plane was commanded by 36-year-old Captain Carlos Alberto Guadarrama Sixtos, who had joined Mexicana in December 1971, and had 6,328 hours of total flying experience. The first officer was 34-year-old Philip Louis Piaget Rhorer, hired by Mexicana in April 1980; he had a little over 1,769 total flying hours. The second officer, Ángel Carlos Peñasco Espinoza, was hired by Mexicana in 1982, and had 1,142 total flying hours. The crew of eight included five flight attendants.
The wife of Captain Sixtos, Graciela Flores, who was a retired flight attendant, and their son and daughter were among the 159 passengers on board. They had planned to travel across the United States when they arrived. Flores had survived the crash of Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801 (Crashed during approach for undetermined reasons) in 1969. Also among the passengers was Guillermo Sánchez, the cousin of former Mexican footballer Hugo Sánchez. Mexican art director Agustín Ytuarte and location manager Federico Ysunza, who were both participating in the filming of the movie Predator, was also on board the flight. American tennis player Derrick Rostagno was booked on the flight as a connecting flight, but he stayed in Mexico City to play a match.
