Nighttime Crash at Tepic Airport Involving a Charter Flight (XA-SWF)

Flight Details and Diversion History The aircraft departed Ciudad Obregón Airport at 2001LT on a charter flight to Toluca, carrying four passengers and two pilots. For unknown reasons, the crew cancelled the flight plan and returned to Ciudad Obregón. A second takeoff was recorded at 2118LT. En route, the crew cancelled the flight plan again as the pilot wanted to divert to Tepic, then Guadalajara, and later Puerto Vallarta. ## Approach and Impact After air traffic control informed the crew that Guadalajara Airport was closed to traffic, the crew decided to fly to Tepic. However, this airport was also closed to traffic. On final approach to Tepic Airport, the crew failed to realize their altitude was insufficient when the aircraft struck the ground and crashed 8.3 km short of runway 02. At the time of the accident, the airport was closed and the approach light system was off. ## Notable Passenger One of the passengers was the drug lord Héctor Luis Palma Salazar, who was later arrested.