Helicopter Crashes in a Street in Mexico

What: Gobierno del Estado de Mexico Agusta A109S Grand
Where: Peréz Valenzuela (street), Del Carmen district, in Coyacán, Mexico
When: Oct 21, 2011
Who: 4 aboard, 2 fatalities
Why: If you imagine going about your normal daily life, you do not expect a chopper to fall in the street, crush your cars and slam into your house.

A chopper owned by the government of Mexico fell in the streets of Coyoacán, between Guillermo Pérez Valenzuela and Avenida Universidad, landing on two vehicles and striking the wall of a house. Because of a fuel spill, the area was cordoned off.

The chopper is an Agusta A-109-S Grand, XC-EDM

Initial coverage was confusing and indicated no fatalities, then three fatalities, then two fatalities with identities unknown.

Eventually two people were confirmed to be deceased, and two as survivors, but the identities took some time to sort out. Two names were released: Juan Estevan Rodriguez (Ruiz Rodriguez) and Julius Caesar Maturano Gomez were reported to be the fatalities—that is, one of the pilots, and the assistant of the secretary of Metropolitan development. We can assume this is correct because of reports of officials attending the funerals in #7 Rue insurgentes in Sapotian neighborhood, Santa Maria Cuevas, Zumpango.

Fernando Alberto Garcia Cuevas (the government official) and the surviving pilot were rushed to Hospital Ángeles Pedregal by emergency responders. Cuevas suffered bleeding of a kidney, which is being addressed by catheter embolization. The surviving pilot, Juan Manuel Ramírez Rivera will be undergoing surgery for broken vertebra in his chest, when he is stabilized.

The pilots attempted to land and save the lives of their passengers and we acknowledge their heroic effort.

Our sources have one photo of the chopper in question:

Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Luis Tena Orozco – AeroImagenes de Mexico

There was significant confusion in the reportage, so that based on reported coverage, all I can say is this:

There may have been a flaw in the rotor of the aircraft, though it is not clear if it was something that the pilots had been informed of prior to the flight, or if there was a failure during the flight. There was also a statement published that the chopper fell out of the sky, and was seen plummeting, and that the rotor stopped because the hasp detached (or did not detach) from the main rotor. I am sure the truth come out in the investigation; it is too soon to know what happened, but if any parties in the know want to comment or make corrections, we welcome the input.

As always, condolences to the families of Rodriguez and Gomez, and best wishes to the recovery of the injured.