Monday, December 10, 2012

Jenni Rivera killed in Mexican Lear crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed in a press release today that Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera has died in a plane crash in Mexico. The NTSB is assisting Mexican civil aviation authorities in the investigation.

According to preliminary details published on Aviation-Safety.net, the crash occurred on December 9 at approximately 4:00 a.m. local time. The crash occurred shortly after takeoff from Monterrey, Mexico (MMMY). The aircraft was enroute to Toluca airport (MMTO) near Mexico City. The crash site is reportedly near the town of Iturbide, Mexico which is located approximately 100 miles south of Monterrey.

Weather reports from the time of the crash available on aviationweather.gov indicated visibility as low as one eighth of a mile in fog and mist. The fact that Monterrey is surrounded by high terrain coupled with the low visibility at the time of the accident point to controlled flight into terrain as a possible cause of the accident.

The accident aircraft was N345MC, a 1969 Lear 25 private jet. The aircraft was registered Starwood Management of Las Vegas according to FlightAware.com. Although the aircraft has a capacity of eight passengers and two crewmembers, only five passengers were aboard the accident flight. All five passengers and both crewmembers were reportedly killed in the accident. The aircraft was totally destroyed.

Aviation-Safety.net’s accident database lists a total of 55 Lear 25 accidents dating back to 1969 when the aircraft was first produced. Forty of the accidents resulted in fatalities. Production of the model ended in 1984 with 373 airplanes.

Originally published on Examiner.com:
http://www.examiner.com/article/ntsb-confirms-jenni-rivera-killed-mexican-plane-crash?cid=db_articles

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