Mexico’s president loses top Cabinet secretary in helicopter crash

MEXICO CITY — The country’s top Cabinet secretary, Francisco Blake Mora, a key figure in the Mexico’s battle with drug cartels, died in a helicopter crash Friday with seven others, including the pilot, the government said.

The cause of the crash is unknown.

Now I am sure most atsers will have the exact same immediate thought I did. Sure it was just a crash.

The secretary of the interior is the country’s top official after the president, overseeing internal political affairs and security, making him a key figure in directing the battle against drug cartels, as well as negotiating with opposition political parties and with the legislature.

Of course there is no proof of this yet. The article doesn't say, but it hints.

There may never be. But I don't think we will see the end of the carnage racked by the Mexican drug cartels anytime soon.
I wouldn't even begin to know how to eradicate them, when police commissioners and politicians and so many innocents are killed at the first sign of interference.

Its starting to get scary.

washingtonpost.com

President Felipe Calderon lost Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino in the crash of a Learjet in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2008. Despite widespread speculation that that accident, which killed 14, was caused by sabotage, investigators eventually ruled that out and blamed pilot error

yea, two secretarys in crashes. Pilot error. ummm yea.

All these plane and helicopter crashes are really starting to get old.
people gotta think of something better.

reply to post by nixie_nox

yea, two secretarys in crashes. Pilot error. ummm yea.

Ummmmm....yes, actually. The investigation into the latest helicopter crash is still too soon for results (weather is likely a factor, preliminarily).

But, the Learjet in 2008 is surely the fault of poor pilot attention to the task at hand, and poor airmanship skills.

Flight International also mentioned that "early reports from unofficial air traffic control sources say the Learjet was following a Boeing 767 at less than the safe wake vortex separation distance."

AirCrewbuzz.com

A video of the radar screen from ATC, along with the audio from the approach controller and the airplanes on the frequency. In Spanish, has block text translations in English:



The approach procedure for Mexico City airport is very challenging, and this is due to the arrangement of the surrounding mountainous terrain. You can see the very tight turn transition required....coming from the north, then the left tight turn to line up with Runway 5L or 5R. This has to be accomplished at a fairly low airspeed (final approach speed, not much faster) in order to not exceed the radius of the turn.

The Learjet would have, once it encountered the wake turbulence of the preceding 767, been in a position speed-wise to make recovery more difficult than would be the case at higher airspeeds.

If the final report could be found, would be worth reading. CNN mentioned it, in an article reporting the latest helicopter crash.....but I can't find it online:

The incident evoked comparisons to a 2008 plane crash that also killed the country's then-interior minister. That crash, in a luxurious Mexico City neighborhood, was later determined to be an accident caused by turbulence. The Learjet carrying the minister and others was following a commercial airliner too closely, authorities said.

CN N article