As it was taking off from Xalapa-El Lencero Airport (JAL), in Veracruz, Mexico, a LearJet 45XR aircraft registration 3912 of the Fuerza Aérea Mexicana (the Mexican Air Force) hit a soil slope and crashed in a field, 120 meters from the runway. The aircraft burst into flames. The 6 military personnel on board the plane were killed.
En Xalapa Veracruz ocurrió un accidente de Learjet 45 de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana, servicios de emergencia continúan laborando. pic.twitter.com/lGvz2PzjLS
— SUUMA Voluntarios (@SUUMA_CDMX) February 21, 2021
The Mexican Ministry of National Defense did not disclose the identities of the military personnel or the work they were carrying out in the region. However, the ministry indicated that their death occurred “in the line of duty.” The Ministry’s Air Accidents Investigating and Judging Commission was entrusted with the investigation to determine the possible causes that led to the crash.
The Learjet 45XR 3912 was manufactured in 2007. According to the FAA registry, it was acquired by the Mexican Air Force in 2014 from a Texas-based company that operated it as an executive jet.
In 2008, the Mexican Minister of the Interior Juan Camilo Mouriño died in the crash of a Learjet 45XR. The investigation concluded that the poorly trained crew entered the wake turbulence of a Boeing 767 and lost control of the aircraft.
