A passenger on a flight that crashed on takeoff in Mexico has said a strong burst of wind and hail hit the airliner, apparently knocking it back to the ground, where there were only moments to evacuate before it burned.
Alberto Herrera, a 35-year-old web page engineer from Chicago, described the terrifying moments when the Aeromexico plane briefly became airborne before crashing belly-down on to a field beyond the edge of the runway.
“The higher up we went into the storm, the heavier the hail got and more wind got to us,” he recounted from his hotel room.
“Then all of a sudden the plane starts rocking and it starts seriously, seriously moving around and then hitting the ground.”
The fire around the wings eliminated the possibility of using wing exits, so Mr Herrera said he moved towards a back exit and started helping other people leave the craft.
Many walked to the end of the runway to wait for emergency vehicles.
Durango state governor Jose Aispuro said all 99 passengers and four crew members made it off the plane, but the pilot was severely injured.
Some people had burns on a quarter of their bodies, said Durango state health ministry spokesman Fernando Ros.
Mr Aispuro said all were expected to live.
He said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Mechanical failure and human error could be factors, but certainly the weather was not favourable.
Aeromexico chief executive officer Andres Conesa described the day as “very difficult” and credited the timely reaction of crew and passengers for the lack of fatalities.
Mr Conesa said the passengers included 88 adults, nine children and two babies and the crew consisted of two flight attendants and two pilots.
He said the airliner had been sent for maintenance in February and the crew was well-rested, having started their work day in Durango.
