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Mexican Air Force Learjet 45 crash

21 Feb 2021 · El Lencero National Airport, Veracruz

Learjet 45 · Crashed while taking off, under investigation

From Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) to Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport (VSA)

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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
6 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
Unknown
Survivors
0
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
Military

Learjet 45

Aircraft type
Learjet 45
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
3912
Onboard fatalities
6
Route
From Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX)To Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport (VSA)

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

From the Wikipedia article

The Mexican Air Force Learjet 45 crash occurred on 21 February 2021, when an aircraft carrying 6 military personnel of the Mexican Air Force crashed at the end of the runway while attempting to take off from El Lencero airport, in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata, Veracruz, falling and crashing into some scrubland. All six crew on board died, due to the post-crash fire. It was scheduled to fly with a stopover to Villahermosa, Tabasco.

Investigation and cause

Reactions and investigation

The Mexican government reacted to the event and issued a statement on its official website, saying:The Secretariat of National Defence informs the public that, at approximately 09:45 on this date, the LearJet 45 aircraft registration 3912 of the Mexican Air Force suffered an accident when taking off from “El Lencero” National Airport, located in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata. In this event, regrettably, 6 military personnel lost their lives.

The Generals, Commanders, Officers and Troops who make up the Armed Institution express our deepest condolences to the families of our comrades in arms who regrettably lost their lives in the line of duty. This Department will ensure that the benefits to which their beneficiaries are entitled by law are granted, as well as the necessary accompaniment to support them in all their needs during this difficult time.

The Aviation Accident Investigation and Assessment Commission of this Secretariat and the Inspectorate and Comptroller General of the Army and Air Force will carry out the corresponding expert examinations to determine the possible causes that gave rise to the event.

Translated into English with AI assistance from the Spanish Wikipedia article “Accidente aéreo del Learjet 45 de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana” (revision 172635471, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article

Sources

Spanish Wikipedia article: Accidente aéreo del Learjet 45 de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana
Article
Accidente aéreo del Learjet 45 de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana
Translation
Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
Revision
172635471 · 2026-03-23 · retrieved 2026-09-19
Wikidata
Q106291064
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
es Wikipedia article "Accidente aéreo del Learjet 45 de la Fuerza Aérea Mexicana" (page 9848205, revision 172635471), translated into English with AI assistance
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
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
operator named as an armed force or military unit 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 Spanish Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.