What happened
On September 15, 2008, at approximately 1318 central daylight time, a Cessna 421B, registration N7560Q, crashed into mountains approximately 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico. The aircraft, operated by Volare Air Charter, was flying near Presidio, Texas, when it collided with terrain at an elevation of approximately 6,500 feet mean sea level. The impact occurred on the west side of the Sierra Grande Mountains, where the aircraft came to rest roughly 100 to 150 feet below a ridgeline.
The pilot and three passengers, including the United States and Mexican Commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission and the Executive Director for the Rio Grande Council of Governments, were 4 fatal injuries. The flight was being conducted to assess Rio Grande flood conditions and coordinate joint US-Mexican flood control efforts.
Earlier that morning, at 1016, the pilot contacted the Fort Worth Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) to file a visual flight rules flight plan to Presidio, Texas. During this communication, the pilot stated an intention to enter Mexican airspace to fly over the Luis Leon Dam. Although the pilot did not request a weather briefing, the AFSS specialist advised that visual flight rules were not recommended because of mountain obscuration.