Aeronaves de México Flight 401
Douglas DC-8-21 · Runway overrun after aborted takeoff, pilot error
From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)
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
- 4 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 106
- Survivors
- 102
- 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
- Unknown
- 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
Douglas DC-8-21
- Aircraft type
- Douglas DC-8
- 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-XAX
- Operator
- Aeronaves de México
- Onboard fatalities
- 4
- Route
- From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)To Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
- Personnel issues › Psychological
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: John F. Kennedy International Airport, the airport the Wikipedia article names as the site. Where on or near it is not known.
From the Wikipedia article
Aeronaves de México Flight 401 was an international scheduled flight from New York Idlewild International Airport in New York City to Mexico City. On January 19, 1961, it overran the runway on takeoff as a result of the takeoff being aborted too late, killing four crew members.
Accident
Flight 401 was scheduled to depart 18:30 but was delayed by an hour and a half by the late arrival of the crew and passengers due to weather conditions. The visibility was a quarter of a mile with light snow and fog. At 20:14 the takeoff was commenced from runway 7R. The rotation was quick and abrupt, and according to survivors the plane was airborne for about three seconds. The airspeed dropped from approximately 130 knots to 110 knots. Fearing a stall, Captain Poe decided to abort the takeoff. He unbuckled his seatbelt to stand up and gauge progress down the runway, briefly advanced the throttles (to see if they were working normally) and quickly brought them fully back. Captain Gonzales quickly used reverse thrust and brakes. Captain Poe extended the spoilers. These actions would have taken about 3 seconds. The aircraft overran the 10,000 foot long runway, smashed through a blast fence and caught fire. The aircraft continued onto the Rockaway Boulevard, hitting a car and injuring its driver. Of the four pilots, Captain Poe was the only survivor. A flight attendant also died in the crash.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The crash was investigated by the Civil Aeronautics Board. The investigators determined that the cause of the crash was the rejected takeoff by Captain Poe who was seated in the jump seat. Poe had without warning reduced thrust during rotation. He did so because he mistakenly believed that the speed the plane took off on was too low. It could not be determined if ice on the pitot tubes, which measure airspeed, could have caused erroneous readings.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Aeronaves de México Flight 401” (revision 1339308734, 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: Aeronaves de México Flight 401
- Revision
- 1339308734 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q131394616
- 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 "Aeronaves de México Flight 401" (page 78416573, revision 1339308734)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- airport the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata code, OurAirports)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- flight number in the article title
- 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.