All survive crash of Mexican jetliner, some walk from wreck

MEXICO CITY - An Aeromexico jetliner taking off in a blustery storm smashed down into a nearby field but skidded to a stop virtually intact, and all 103 people aboard were able to escape advancing flames before fire engulfed the aircraft.

Durango state Gov. Jose Aispuro said a gust of wind hit flight AM2431 heading from the city of Durango to Mexico City just as it was lifting off the tarmac, forcing the pilot to abort takeoff.

Passengers said they heard a loud noise as the plane's left wing banged to the ground, and both engines tore loose. The plane stayed upright, though, and the escape slides activated.

Aispuro said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash. Mechanical failure and human error could be factors, but certainly the weather wasn't favorable. Strong wind and heavy rain with marble-sized hail lashed Durango city, even damaging hangars at the airport.

"The most important thing in the seriousness that is an accident of this nature is that there were no deaths — that's what is most encouraging for us," Aispuro said at a news conference.

After the accident, several passengers walked away from the plane before first responders arrived. Some sought medical help, while others rushed home to loved ones. Officials spent much of the afternoon tracking down survivors to ensure that everyone was accounted for.

Officials said 49 people had been hospitalized — most with minor injuries. The pilot suffered the most serious injury, a cervical lesion that required surgery. Some people had burns on a quarter of their bodies, said Durango state Health Ministry spokesman Fernando Ros.

Aispuro said all were expected to live.

Aeromexico Chief Executive Officer Andres Conesa described the day as "very difficult" and credited the timely reaction of crew and passengers for the lack of fatalities.

"Our heart is with those affected and their families," he said at an evening news conference.

Conesa said the passengers included 88 adults, nine children and two babies and the crew consisted of two flight attendants and two pilots.

He said the jetliner had been sent for maintenance in February and the crew was well-rested, having started their work day in Durango.

The web site Planespotters.net said the Brazilian-made medium-range jet was about 10 years old and had seen service with two other airlines before joining the Aeromexico fleet.

Operations were suspended at Durango city's Guadalupe Victoria airport after the crash.

The operator of Durango airport, Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte, attributed the crash to bad weather conditions, citing preliminary reports. The plane had barely taken off when it felt like it was hit by a strong air current, another passenger told network Televisa.

The head of Mexico's civil aviation agency, Luis Gerardo Fonseca, said it could take months to know the causes of the accident. Speaking to Televisa, he said it the plane's voice and data recorders would be recovered once rescue efforts were completed.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote on Twitter that he had instructed the defense, civil protection and transportation ministries to aid in the response to the crash.

Passengers expressed gratitude to be alive, but many were extremely shaken after the crash Tuesday afternoon.

"I feel blessed and grateful to God"

One passenger, identified as Jackeline Flores, told reporters she and her daughter escaped from a hole in the fuselage as the aircraft filled up with smoke.

"A little girl who left the plane was crying because her legs were burned," said Flores, who said she was Mexican but lived in Bogota, Colombia. The plane had barely left the ground in heavy rain when it came down, she said.

Flores said her passport and documents burned in the fire.

"I feel blessed and grateful to God," she said.

"Some even wandered back to the airport to seek out relatives"

The governor of Mexico's Durango state says authorities are checking the burned-out hull of a plane that went down shortly after takeoff to ensure that nobody was still inside. Earlier, he wrote on his Twitter account that "it is confirmed there were no fatalities" from Tuesday's accident.

Gov. Jose Aispuro says 49 people have been hospitalized. He described a strange accident scene in which some passengers got out under their power, and some even wandered back to the airport to seek out relatives.

"It burned in a question of seconds"

"It was really, really ugly," said Lorenzo Nunez, a passenger from Chicago who fled the plane with his two sons and wife. "It burned in a question of seconds," he told reporters, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

Survivors said the Embraer 190 plane burst into flames right after it hit the ground.

"We felt the flames coming quickly ... there was a lot of smoke," Jaquelin Flores told the newspaper El Sol.

Reuters/AP