Mexico offers reason for crash
The turbulent wake of a large passenger plane probably caused the fatal crash of a government jet carrying Mexico’s second-highest official, Transportation Secretary Luis Tellez said Friday.
A preliminary investigation found that the jet’s pilots were slow to follow tower instructions to reduce the plane’s speed and appeared to be nearly one nautical mile too close behind a Boeing 767-300 on the same flight path to Mexico City’s airport, Tellez said at a news conference.
Among the 14 killed Nov. 4 was Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino, the equivalent of Mexico’s vice president. Also killed was former anti-drug prosecutor Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos.
Tellez said officials found no explosives or evidence of alcohol or drugs in the pilots’ bodies. Officials also confirmed that the plane’s engines were working normally.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
