Accident Boeing 727-264 XA-MEM,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 327022
 

Date:Monday 31 March 1986
Time:09:11
Type:Silhouette image of generic B722 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Boeing 727-264
Owner/operator:Mexicana de Aviación
Registration: XA-MEM
MSN: 22414/1748
Year of manufacture:1981
Engine model:Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17R
Fatalities:Fatalities: 167 / Occupants: 167
Aircraft damage: Destroyed, written off
Category:Accident
Location:Las Mesas -   Mexico
Phase: En route
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Mexico City-Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX/MMMX)
Destination airport:Puerto Vallarta-Gustavo D. Ordaz Airport (PVR/MMPR)
Narrative:
Flight 940 took off from Mexico City (MEX) at 08:40 for a flight to Puerto Vallarta (PVR), Mazatlán (MZT) and Los Angeles (LAX). The left main gear brake was overheated during the takeoff run. When the aircraft had reached FL310 the heat caused a tyre on the left hand main gear to explode. Fuel and hydraulic lines were ruptured and electrical cables severed resulting in a cabin decompression. An emergency was declared, but spilt fuel ignited and caused a massive fire on board. Control was lost and the aircraft crashed into a mountain in the Sierra Madre, at an elevation of 9000 feet. It was found that the tire had been serviced with air rather than nitrogen. The air, under high temperature and pressure, resulted in a chemical reaction with the tire itself. This led to a chemical explosion of the tire.

Sources:

Kevin A. Darcy
Lloyds List
Violeta Hernandez

Location

Revision history:

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