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Aeroméxico Flight 230

27 Jul 1981 · Chihuahua International Airport, Chihuahua, Mexico

Aeromexico McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 · Runway excursion due to bad weather

From Monterrey International Airport (MTY) to General Roberto Fierro Villalobos International Airport (CUU)

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Event

Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
Event fatalities
32 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
66
Survivors
34
InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
34
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Airline

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32

Flight
AM230
Category
Airplane · from aircraft type
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
XA-DEN
Operator
Aeroméxico
Onboard fatalities
32
Route
From Monterrey International Airport (MTY)To General Roberto Fierro Villalobos International Airport (CUU)

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

On July 27, 1981, Aeroméxico Flight 230, operating a domestic passenger flight within Mexico, experienced a hard landing and runway excursion at Chihuahua International Airport. Thirty-two people were killed in the accident.

While the plane was descending, heavy winds caused the plane to bounce upon touchdown. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, subsequently skidded off the runway, catching fire, and trapping around half of those on the plane.

Background

The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, registered as XA-DEN with MSN 47621/729. At the time of the crash, it was 7 years old.

Accident

The flight was uneventful until landing at Chihuahua. There were isolated cumulonimbus clouds with strong squalls and showers during approach and landing. This was compounded by extremely low visibility. Upon touchdown, the aircraft bounced once and struck the ground with immense force. The aircraft then slid off the runway, broke up and caught fire. Thirty-four passengers and crew were able to flee the wreckage; the smoke and fire caused the deaths of those that remained trapped.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeroméxico Flight 230” (revision 1358168934, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

Sources

Wikipedia article: Aeroméxico Flight 230
Article
Aeroméxico Flight 230
Revision
1358168934 · 2026-06-07 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q4688331
Licence
Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
Record
Wikipedia article "Aeroméxico Flight 230" (page 35095476, revision 1358168934)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
Wikipedia article coordinates
Aircraft, operator and route
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation
airline flight number in the infobox
Fatalities
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary
Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
  • Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.