Two private planes collide in northern Mexico; 5 dead, including one child

Five people, including one child, were killed when two private planes crashed Monday morning in the Mexican northern state of Durango, state authorities said. The crash occurred on a small dirt airstrip in the town of La Galancita, in western Durango. Two planes, both Cessna light aircraft, collided while one was taking off and the other was landing, the state’s Security Secretariat told The Associated Press.

After the collision, both aircraft caught fire. All five passengers were killed in the accident, the state agency said. State authorities are investigating the cause of the fatal crash. In 2018, an Aeromexico jetliner taking off in a blustery storm had smashed down into a nearby field but skidded to a stop virtually intact, and all 103 people aboard were able to escape advancing flames before fire engulfed the aircraft. Passengers had expressed gratitude to be alive, but many were extremely shaken after the crash Tuesday afternoon.

“It was really, really ugly,” said Lorenzo Nunez, a passenger from Chicago who fled the plane with his two sons and wife. “It burned in a question of seconds,” he told reporters, snapping his fingers for emphasis. Survivors said the Embraer 190 plane burst into flames right after it hit the ground.  Romulo Campuzano, head of a political party in Durango state who was on the plane, told Foro TV that both wings were on fire as he bolted from the aircraft. Durango state Gov. Jose Aispuro said a gust of wind hit flight AM2431 heading from the city of Durango to Mexico City just as it was lifting off the tarmac, forcing the pilot to abort takeoff.