Aeroméxico Flight 498

Aeroméxico Flight 498 was a scheduled commercial flight from Mexico City, Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, United States, with several intermediate stops. On Sunday, August 31, 1986, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the flight was clipped in the tail section by a Piper PA-28 Cherokee owned by the Kramer family, and crashed into the Los Angeles suburb of Cerritos, killing all 64 on the DC-9, all 3 in the Piper, and an additional 15 people on the ground. Eight on the ground also sustained minor injuries. Blame was assessed equally on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the pilot of the Cherokee. No fault was found with the DC-9 or the actions of its crew.

Background

Accident summary

On Sunday, August 31, 1986, around 11:46 am PDT, Flight 498 began its descent into Los Angeles with 58 passengers and 6 crew members on board. At 11:52 am, the Piper collided nearly perpendicular to the upper left side of the horizontal stabilizer support structure of the DC-9, shearing off the top of the Piper's cockpit and decapitating the pilot and both passengers. The heavily damaged Piper descended uncontrollably after the collision, entering a flat spin, and falling onto an empty playground at Cerritos Elementary School.

The DC-9, with its horizontal stabilizer, rudder, and half of its vertical stabilizer torn off, over-banked to the right (rotated clockwise) and simultaneously entered a steep dive. It slammed into a residential neighborhood at Holmes Avenue and Reva Circle in Cerritos, crashing into the back yard of a house at 13426 Ashworth Place, where it exploded on impact.