Aircraft

Surveillance video images have emerged showing the moment that a USA Jet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 freighter crashed at Mexico’s Plan de Guadalupe Airport in Saltillo earlier this month.

The video shows a Learjet 25 parked in the northern part of the airport, and the DC-9 in the background, verifying that it had been approaching Saltillo’s runway 17 before the 6 July accident.

While the images give little detail of the cause, they appear to indicate that the aircraft was experiencing significant roll before dropping to the ground and exploding. One frame of the video shows a brief, bright flash, perhaps lending weight to suggestions that the aircraft clipped a power line during the event.

It crashed and broke up near Saltillo Airport’s DHL freight centre which is located about 400m east of the runway 17 centreline. One of the two pilots on board survived the accident.