Date & Time:
May 5, 2019 at 1740 LT
Type of aircraft:
Canadair CL-601 Challenger
Registration:
N601VH
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Desert
Schedule:
Las Vegas - Monterrey
MSN:
5043
YOM:
1989
Country:
Mexico
Region:
Central America
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
11
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
13
Captain / Total hours on type:
329
Copilot / Total hours on type:
147
Aircraft flight hours:
7637
Aircraft flight cycles:
4122
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Las Vegas-McCarran Airport at 1452LT on a charter flight to Monterrey, carrying two pilots and 11 passengers who were returning to Mexico after taking part to a boxing match in Las Vegas. The flight was completed at FL370 until the crew was cleared to climb to FL390 for five minutes then to FL410. Suddenly, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and eventually crashed in an almost flat attitude in a desert area located near La Rosita, Coahuila. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 13 occupants were killed. The wreckage was found the following day.
Probable cause:
A loss of control at high altitude after the airplane encountered severe atmospheric turbulences coming from an unstable weather area. The crew were unable to detect the presence of this atmospheric phenomenon due to the malfunction of the onboard weather radar system for reasons that could not be determined.
Final Report:
N601VH.pdf6.82 MB
