Investigation Summary
Flight 229 was a scheduled international service originating in Houston with stops in Monterrey and Puerto Vallarta before its final destination in Mexico City. The accident occurred during the leg between Monterrey and Puerto Vallarta. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 (MSN 47100/153) named Coahuila, was cleared for an approach to runway 04 at Puerto Vallarta. At 22:47 local time, while navigating the mountainous terrain surrounding the coastal airport, the DC-9 impacted Las Minas Mountain. The air traffic controller on duty, Alejandro Rojano, noticed the aircraft's disappearance from communication and reported it missing to the RAMSA offices in Mexico City three minutes later. The investigation focused on the descent profile and crew performance, ultimately concluding that the aircraft's speed was not properly managed during the approach, which contributed to the aircraft being lower or further off course than required for safe terrain clearance.
Final Conclusions
The investigation concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the pilot's failure to sufficiently reduce the aircraft's speed during the descent procedure. This error led to a Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) on the side of Las Minas Mountain.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A
The two turbofan engines powering the DC-9-15.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 manufactured in 1967 (MSN 47100/153).
- 02The crash site was located 32 km (20 miles) south-southeast of Puerto Vallarta Airport.
- 03All 27 people on board, including 22 passengers and 5 crew members, were killed.
- 04The aircraft was named 'Coahuila' and carried registration XA-SOC.