I can't believe it. http://www.king5.com/topstories/10003457_WO0912mex_crash.html The Associated Press MERIDA, Mexico – A plane carrying 19 people, most of them American tourists, on a visit to Mayan ruins crashed in Yucatan state Wednesday, killing all aboard, authorities said. Yucatan Gov. Patricio Patron said the majority of the victims were American, but he didn't provide an exact figure or any identifications. Fernando Vargas, director general of Aero Ferinco, said in a telephone interview that the passengers left the cruise ship Massdam at the Caribbean island of Cozumel and were flying to visit the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. He said the twin-engine LET 410 with 16 passengers, a Mexican guide and two pilots crashed shortly about 5 p.m. near the village of Tinum shortly after taking off from Chichen Itza on a return trip to Cozumel. "There were no indications of an emergency," Vargas said. The plane was flying at about 500 feet when it began turning onto a course requested by the air traffic controller, he added. "It did not stop turning" and suddenly plunged to the ground. "We don't know what happened," Vargas said, though Mexican federal aviation officials were investigating. Vargas said pilot Jose Luis Romero had 7,100 hours flying time and co-pilot Aurelio Perez Escalante more than 1,000. The administrator of the Chichen Itza airport, Eduardo Alfaro de la Torre, told the government news agency Notimex that the pilot of the plane had not radioed for help before the accident. The airline, based on Cozumel, flies in the Yucatan Peninsula, to Guatemala and Cuba. It specializes in chartered air tours.
SAD, but lots of tragic incidents (and threads) like this will be over looked? How many more muggings or murders or car wrecks or deaths have ALREADY happened and all of them invisible to the world because of this major, major, major tragedy. God bless those people on board that plane too! They were probably having a great time in the Yucatan. I hear its georgeous.
Ah man,, they were Washington Husky Fans on a carribean cruise. They were to fly to florida for the Game on Saturday. A former coach and QB were on the cruise but decided not to take the extra tour to the ruins... http://espn.go.com/ncf/news/2001/0912/1250991.html
I was at my best friend's apartment last night. We saw the news report about this crash and his roommate became very hysterical. She told us that her Dad was on that UW cruise. We spent the next hour or so calling the lines to find out if he was still alive. Fortunately, after an hour w/out knowing, we found out that he decided not to take the flight to check out the ruins and survived. Apparently, he was supposed to take the flight, but wasn't feeling well. His 2 best friends were on the plane though and are not here any longer. This hits very close to home since I lost my Mother in April. The three of us shed some tears and fortunately tears of joy when she found out he was ok. I just can't tell you how tough this week has been.
