What happened
While operating a flight from Orlando to Cancún, the flight crew lost their way and departed from the intended flight path, drifting westward from the planned route. Due to this navigation error, the aircraft was directed by air traffic control toward the Tampico-General Francisco Javier Mina Airport, situated approximately 1,144 km northwest of the original destination.
During the final approach phase, the aircraft suffered a simultaneous loss of power in both engines. This failure was caused by fuel exhaustion. As a result of the loss of thrust, the aircraft lost airspeed and entered a stall. The plane struck the ILS equipment located roughly 300 metres before the threshold of runway 31. The impact caused the undercarriage to be torn from the airframe. The aircraft continued along the runway, coming to a final stop 220 metres beyond the initial impact point. There were no fatalities among the 47 occupants, all of whom evacuated the aircraft without injury. The aircraft sustained damage that rendered it a total loss.
Findings
- The primary reason for the dual engine failure was the depletion of onboard fuel reserves.