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Aeromexico Flight Makes Emergency Landing at Heathrow Airport

Aeromexico flight AM-8 made an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport, England, on February 9th.

The plane took off for Mexico City, Mexico, but had to turn back due to an air conditioning problem.

The plane landed safely. All two hundred and thirty-seven people aboard remained unharmed.

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Aeromexico Plane Crashes in Mexico; 85 Injured

Aeromexico flight AM-2431 crashed shortly after takeoff from Durango International Airport, Mexico, on July 31st.

The incident happened when the plane, carrying ninety-nine passengers and four crew members, was heading to Mexico City, Mexico.

Eighty-five people were injured in the incident.

The cause of crash is being investigated.

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Aeromexico Plane Collides with Service Truck at LAX; 8 Injured

An Aeromexico plane collided with a service truck after landing in Los Angeles, California, on May 20th.

The incident happened when flight AM-642 from Mexico City, Mexico, was taxiing toward the terminal at Los Angeles airport.

The truck overturned due to impact. There were eight people aboard, including six men and two women; all of them were injured.

The Boeing 737-800 plane, carrying 149 people, sustained minor damage.

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Aeromexico Connect Flight Makes Emergency Landing after Snake was Spotted On Board

aeromexicoAeromexico Connect flight AM-231 had to make an emergency landing in Mexico City, Mexico, on November 6th.

The Embraer ERJ-190 plane was flying from Torreon, Mexico, when a snake was spotted in the cabin, prompting the crew to declare an emergency.

The plane landed uneventfully. All passengers and crew members remained safe.

The incident is being investigated.

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Aeromexico Plane Rejects Takeoff in Mexico due to another Aircraft on Runway

AeromexicoAeromexico flight AM-421 had to reject takeoff at a high speed at Mexico City International Airport, Mexico City, Mexico, on July 13th.

The Boeing 737-700 was accelerating to takeoff for Merida, Mexico, when the crew saw another aircraft on the runway, prompting the plane to stop.

The aircraft braked heavily. All people onboard remained unharmed.

The incident remians under investigation.

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Aeromexico Flight Diverts to Chicago due to Pressurization Issues

Aeromexico flight 9101 was forced to divert and make an emergency landing in Chicago, Illinois, on February 5.

The Boeing 737-800 was en-route from General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Cancun, Mexico, when the passengers heard a loud explosion. Shortly afterwards, the pilot announced that the aircraft was losing pressure and sought permission for an emergency landing in Chicago.

The plane landed safely. Everyone aboard remained unharmed.

The airline arranged an alternate aircraft for the passengers.

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Aeromexico Connect Depressurizes Over Mexico


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographerRicardo Morales

What: Aeromexico Connect Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Veracruz to Monterrey
Where: Tampico
When: Mar 17th 2012
Who: 48 passengers and 3 crew
Why: The flight developed a cabin pressure problem. As the aircraft (and oxygen masks) descended and temps in the plane ascended, pilots diverted to Tampico. Passengers responded with alarm but were reassured by the flight crew.

The pilots made a safe landing in Tampico.

Passengers disembarked, and were provided an alternative flight.

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Cerritos: Aeromexico Shattered Lives

In George’s Point of View

It is a strange, sad phenomenon how tragedies live on.

On August 31, 1986, a Piper and a Douglas DC-9-32 collided over Cerritos California. The Piper, carrying the pilot and two passengers was going from Torrence to Big Bear. They departed Torrence at 11:46. The DC-9 from Mexico City was approaching Los Angeles with 58 passengers and 6 crew aboard. At 11:52 am, the DC-9’s left horizontal stabilizer sheared through the Piper’s cockpit like a can-opener.

The Piper crashed in the Cerritos Elementary School playground; the DC-9 in a Cerritos neighborhood destroying five houses, damaging seven more and killing an additional 15 on the ground.

Descriptions of the collision still fill me with horror.

The accident predates some of the precautionary measures we have now. Now, the Piper would have a Mode C transponder, which would indicate that it was too high, breeching LAX Terminal Control area; LAX was not at that time equipped with automatic warning systems.

It has been twenty-five years since that accident happened. A memorial ceremony now is being held commemorating the tragedy in the Cerritos Sculpture Garden, and another in Loreto, Mexico. The tragedy is being remembered by at least 30 US families, 20 Mexican families, in at least one home in Colombia, and one in El Salvador. It is being remembered in the neighborhood the wreckage demolished, where families neither need nor want a plaque to remind them of their loss.

There is a reminder of this crash in every light plane, and every jet. In fact, everyone who flies now, everyone who has flown and not died in a crash owes a debt to the victims of this senseless tragedy, because this was the event that spurred the FAA to require “Mode C” transponders that could report three-dimensional positioning on light aircraft. This was the event that spurred the FAA to require TCAS on airliners.

I still live to breathe the smoggy air of Los Angeles. And as long as I still have the breath of life, I will remember the day when these 82 souls breathed their last.

Aviation tragedies shatters lives like broken glass, and there is no lawsuit, no settlement, no “all the kings horses, nor all the kings men” who can ever put families back together again.

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Diligent Kudos to AeroMexico for Averting a Disaster

What: Aeromexico Boeing 737-700 scheduled from Costa Rica to Mexico City
Where: Costa Rica
When: Mar 12, 2011
Who: 2 (drunk) Mexican pilots, 101 passengers
Why: Saturday on arrival at the airport in Costa Rica for their shift, these two AeroMexico pilots complained of nausea. They probably had big heads too, since they had attended some kind of drunken revelry 7 hours before in San Jose, which is not long enough for the alcohol to be metabolized out of their systems. They were apparently intending to fly their shifts, but some eagle-eyed AeroMexico personnel correctly evaluated their condition. One of them refused the alcohol test, but not the other. Neither was allowed to fly, and both were suspended. The flight was delayed until replacement pilots (sober ones) were found to take the cockpit. Passengers were compensated for the delay.

In George’s Point of View

Is March the month for drinking? A case was just brought to our attention yesterday, and though it is not aviation, it is frighteningly similar, though I could argue they were completely different. But then, I could argue anything even if I’m not a lawyer.

The case I’m talking about is that of the BOLT Driver Arrested for DUI. Bolt is not an airline, but a bus division. So what is the similarity? There it was bussing (trucking) down the road when it was pulled over and the driver cited for tailgating, and driving in the wrong lane before he got his driving under the influence AND his license taken away. He was caught, sadly, not before his shift, and not by crew, but by passengers who clearly feared for their lives and called 911 from inside the bus, as the driver was either weaving, or napping or drinking, or all of the above. Someone had seen his pocket flask.

Okay, the obvious similarities are drunks at the wheel of communal transit. Both were caught before serious damage occurred. The difference—and this is crucial—are that the BOLT bus driver was allowed to take his shift, regardless of his condition. He put everyone aboard that bus at serious risk.

So kudos to AeroMexico. Even though all you’re going to hear about it is grousing from individuals complaining of the delay, your diligence probably saved the lives of 110 passengers.

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AeroMexico Boeing Engine Problems; Diverts to Azores


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jorge Garcia

What: Aeromexico Boeing 777-200 en route from Mexico City (Mexico) to Madrid,SP
Where: Santa Maria
When: Dec 4th 2010
Why: Initially, the flight diverted to the Azores Islands due to a Spanish strike, but later said there were problems with the right engine. After the plane landed, passengers were provided hotel accommodations. Another plane brought spare parts to Santa Maria, and the flight continued the next day after repairs were completed.

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Aeromexico Cautionary Landing in Ciudad Victoria


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Juan Carlos Guerra

What: AeroMexico Connect Embraer ERJ-145 en route from San Antonio to Mexico City
Where: Ciudad Victoria
When: May 13th 2010
Who: 31 passengers
Why: The Aeromexico Connect had a fire alert in a cargo compartment. They diverted to Ciudad Victoria where they made a safe landing. A replacement jet was flown in the next day. Also, the fire alert appeared to be a groundless indicator error; no fire was found.

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Aeromexico Embraer Emergency Landing


Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Jorge Garcia

What: Aeromexico Connect Embraer ERJ-145 en route from Hermosillo to Tijuana
Where: 36 passengers and 3 crew
When: Jan 21st 2010
Who: 36 passengers 3 crew
Why: On landing, the Embraer veered off the runway and came to a rest on the ground.

Several passengers were reported to be in shock, but there were no other reported injuries. The plane’s fuselage incurred damage.

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Hijacking

Please note that the hijackers have been taken into custody and the crew is no longer being held hostage.

What: AeroMexico Boeing 737 en route from Cancun Mexico was hijacked in Mexico on Wednesday and flown to the Mexican capital,
Where: Mexico City
When: Sept 9 2009
Who: all of the 112 American, French, and Mexican passengers and crew got off the plane. Five suspects have caught on film handcuffed being escorted into custody; up to 8 are being detained.
Why: Hijackers threatened to blow the plane up unless they were allowed to speak to President Felipe Calderon. No bomb was on board

The hijackers are Bolivian citizens.

Passengers debarked with their carryon luggage. Some passengers were unaware they’d been hijacked until they arrived and saw police. Others indicate the pilot had made an announcement that they were being hijacked. The hijackers were never able to enter the cockpit.