Story ID: GPaeromexicocrash08012018
All Survive Aeromexico E190 Crash
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: Pilot tried to abort takeoff during hailstorm when gust of wind forced airplane to the ground
Word Count: 197
Flights in and out of Durango, Mexico’s General Guadalupe Victoria International Airport have resumed following Tuesday’s crash of an Aeromexico Embraer E190 during an attempt to abort a takeoff in heavy rain, hail, and wind. Flight 2431 from Durango to Mexico City carried 99 passengers and four crewmembers, all of whom survived the accident. Although rescue crews transferred all of the people on board to local hospitals, officials reported 85 casualties, including the flight’s captain, who suffered among the most serious burn injuries.

Soon after the E190 took off, the captain decided to abort just as a gust of wind suddenly forced the airplane’s left wing to hit the ground, causing it to veer off the runway. By the time it came to rest some 300 yards from the runway, both engines had separated from the airframe and the hull became engulfed in flames.

In a statement, Embraer said it would support investigative authorities and had sent a team of technicians to the scene of the accident. The manufacturer reported that it delivered the airplane, serial number 190-173, in May 2008 to Republic Airways, which flew it as US Airways Express until 2014.