THE AEROMEXICO DISASTER : Mexican Officials Question Traffic Control

Mexican aviation officials and professional pilots suggested Monday that control tower error, coupled with chronically heavy weekend air traffic near Los Angeles, caused Sunday’s collision of a light plane with an Aeromexico jetliner.

“It is possible that there was a mistake in the control tower in Los Angeles or among the air controllers,” said Alejandro Luna, secretary general of the Aviation Pilots Union. “However, it would be premature to speak about who is responsible.”

Privately, however, officials of the pilots union questioned whether the control tower had warned the pilot of Aeromexico Flight 498 that the light plane, a Piper PA-28 Archer, was approaching.

Dangerous on Weekends

A spokesman for the union said that pilots from both of Mexico’s government-owned air carriers, Mexicana and Aeromexico, have long argued that air traffic congestion near approaches to Los Angeles International Airport makes the area dangerous, especially on weekends.

“There are a lot of pilots up there who fly as a hobby, without control or communication from any control tower,” said Arnoldo Reyes, the union spokesman. “They don’t know the rules, they don’t know the trajectory of incoming commercial flights. They’re ignorant.”

Reyes, himself an Aeromexico pilot who has frequently flown into Los Angeles, said that pilots have complained that such traffic is increasing.

“It’s becoming more and more worrisome,” Reyes said. “The control tower tells us there’s traffic at 12 o’clock, or 10 o’clock (referring to relative bearings). We have to look around.”

Reyes said the Piper should not have been flying above 2,500 feet but was at 6,000 to 7,000 feet. “What was he doing up there?” Reyes asked.

Government-owned Aeromexico dismissed the possibility that its pilot erred or that there was a mechanical failure in the DC-9 jet, and put the blame on the pilot of the private plane.

“Up to now, no reason has been found for the presence of a private plane in the path of the Aeromexico craft,” a statement issued by the airline said.

The DC-9 had been in service for six years, a relatively short time in the life of a large commercial plane, said airline spokesman Pedro Cerizola.

The DC-9 was piloted by Arturo Valdes Prom, 47, a 14-year veteran of the airline. He had flown many of the line’s principal routes to Madrid, Miami, Acapulco and Los Angeles. Union spokesman Reyes said Valdes was among the most experienced of Aeromexico’s pilots, with more than 10,000 hours in the air. Aeromexico officials said Valdes’ flight record was excellent.

Good Reputation

Reyes dismissed any suggestion of negligence by Valdes, whom he described as “a good friend.” Valdes was well-known and respected among his colleagues for having “the highest professionalism,” Reyes said. “His reputation puts him above suspicion in this accident.”

Valdes’ wife and four children were awaiting word here on recovery of the pilot’s body, said Antonio Borja, Valdes’ brother-in-law.

“We were told it might take three days,” Borja said in a telephone interview. He said the family has taken dental records to the Mexico City airport for shipment to Los Angeles to help identify the body.

According to an Aeromexico spokesman, only two passengers who boarded the flight in Mexico City planned to go to Los Angeles. Six boarded in Guadalajara for Los Angeles, 31 in Loreto in Baja California and 19 in Tijuana. There were six crew members.

Mexican officials went to Los Angeles to assist in the official investigation. On Monday they flew on to Washington to listen to recordings of the last communications between the Aeromexico plane and the control tower.