Fatal Crash of Government Flight from Toluca to Colima (XC-COL)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On the day of the accident, an aircraft departed Toluca Airport at 1516 local time, bound for Colima. The flight carried two pilots and five members of the Colima Government. Fifteen minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 16,000 feet, the crew reported control problems to air traffic control. The crew was subsequently cleared to divert to Morelia Airport via radial 160. Shortly after receiving this clearance, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in wooded, mountainous terrain near El Devanador. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and the deaths of all seven people on board. ## Occupants The flight crew consisted of pilot Mario Torres and copilot Germán Ascencio. The five passengers were all officials from the Colima Government: Gustavo Vázquez Montes, Governor of the State of Colima; Roberto Preciado Cuevas, delegate secretary for Tourism; Ignacio Peralta, delegate secretary for Economy; Luis Barreda Cedillo, delegate secretary for Finances; and Guillermo Díaz, Director of Tourism. ## Official Findings The official investigation identified the probable cause as a sudden descent during cruise flight and loss of control due to flight control problems. Specific findings included a possible failure of the horizontal stabilizer actuator, a possible abrupt change in the aircraft's attitude due to the position of the center of gravity, possible improper crew actions to resolve the emergency, and possible crew neglect of the position and indication of flight controls.