What happened
A scheduled commercial flight traveling from Tijuana to Mexico City, which included stops in Guadalajara and Uruapan, ended in a fatal accident during its final leg. The aircraft departed Uruapan-General Ignacio López Rayón Airport from runway 20 at 18:59 local time. On board were five crew members and 13 passengers.
Following departure, the flight crew received clearance to climb to an altitude of 5,000 feet. While the aircraft reached approximately 1,000 meters, it transitioned into a high angle of attack, leading to an aerodynamic stall. The plane subsequently entered a dive and struck an avocado plantation situated roughly 5.3 km from the airport. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, resulting in 18 fatalities.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified several critical errors during the takeoff phase. The primary cause was determined to be over-rotation during takeoff and an excessively steep climb angle, which led to a loss of control. During this instrument flight rules (IFR) operation, the crew experienced spatial disorientation. There were also reports from the crew regarding a potential failure in the asymmetry indication for the leading edge slats.
Several contributing factors were noted by investigators:
- Inadequate preparation for IFR operations at Uruplant airport and failure to follow AIP Manual procedures.
- Neglecting standard checklist procedures during various flight phases.
- Loss of external visual references due to the use of cockpit lights prior to the takeoff roll.
- Improper rotation technique that caused the tail to skid on the runway.
- Maintaining a climb angle that exceeded the limits set in the aircraft operations manual.
- Deficiencies in cockpit resource management (CRM).