Small plane crash in Mexico kills pilot, air force co-pilot
A small plane crashed outside the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, killing a civilian pilot and a Mexican Air Force pilot who went along for the ride, authorities and relatives confirmed.
The plane went down Sunday afternoon at El Migote beach near Pie de la Cuesta, just south of Acapulco, killing pilot Ruben Fajardo and Air Force pilot Victor Serrano, said Hector Lara, an agent of the district attorney’s office for the nearby city of Coyuca de Benitez.
Fajardo had not wanted to fly on Sunday, but was persuaded by the Air Force pilot, Pedro Victor Serrano, according to Fajardo’s widow, Vianey Gonzalez.
“This man showed up and said that he was a military pilot and wanted to know how the plane flew, and after a while he persuaded my husband to take him on a flight,” Gonzalez told The Associated Press.
Gonzalez said Air Force personnel who arrived to confirm the identity of the military pilot said they found a note in his clothes containing reflections on life and death.
“I don’t know if it was a posthumous note but it looks like this man had intentions to provoke the accident, because the airplane was very safe and my husband had a lot of experience in his work,” Gonzalez said.
Military officials refused to comment, and Serrano’s relatives could not be reached immediately for a response.
More: signonsandiego.com
Soccer legend Valdano hurt in Mexico copter crash
Retired Argentine soccer great Jorge Valdano suffered minor injuries along with seven others in a helicopter crash in Mexico City on Saturday, police said.
Valdano, who was carried from the crash scene in a neck brace, would likely be discharged from the hospital on Sunday, doctors said.
"Jorge Valdano is conscious and has no injuries that could be considered serious," Carlos Lijtszain, emergency room head at the ABC hospital, told reporters.
The helicopter crashed in a street in the capital's business district, almost hitting a truck, but there were no fatalities. Five other passengers in the
Plane crash in northern Iowa kills two
Two people were killed and two others injured when a small plane crashed Wednesday in a northeast Iowa cornfield, a federal official said.
The accident happened about 11 a.m. near Cresco just south of the Minnesota border. The victims names werent immediately released.
There is a plane down. We understand there were four aboard and two fatalities, Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Chicago, said. (updated 2:49pm)
Iowa guardsmen to patrol U.S.-Mexico border
DES MOINES (AP) — Soldiers from the Iowa National Guard will patrol the U.S. border with Mexico as
Truck, bus crash kills 38 in Mexico
Thirty-eight people were killed in northwest Mexico when a truck hauling ammonium chloride plowed into a passenger bus, El Universal reported Thursday.
The majority of those killed were burned by the harsh chemical that spilled at the tanker and bus slid down an embankment after impact.
Two dozen women and four children were among those killed.
Four other adults injured in the crash were taken to a local hospital for various injuries.
More: sciencedaily.com
Crash involving bus, gas tanker in western Mexico kills at least 37
A crash involving a gas tanker and a bus killed at least 37 people in the western state of Sinaloa, federal police said Wednesday.
The crash occurred Tuesday evening, near the city of Los Mochis, on a highway linking Mexico City and the border city of Nogales in northern Sinaloa, said a police officer, who wasn't authorized to speak on the record. Four people were injured.
The officer said that the tanker was carrying ammonium chloride, a toxic gas that sickened some of the victims.
A separate crash early Wednesday
Mexico security minister killed in helicopter crash
Mexico's public security minister, a key figure in the war against drug cartels, was killed along with eight others on Wednesday when his helicopter crashed in fog in mountains near the capital.
Rescue workers found the charred wreckage of Ramon Martin Huerta's helicopter six hours after contact was lost early into a flight from the capital to a high-security prison.
In a televised address, President Vicente Fox vowed to push on with his fight against violent gangs running drugs into the United States.
"Today, more than ever, I repeat the commitment of my government and of
Mexico minister in crash had received death threats
A Mexican anti-drug minister who died in a helicopter crash last week had received death threats but his death was most likely an accident, the government said on Monday.
Public Security Minister Ramon Martin Huerta, a key figure in the government's fight against drug traffickers, and eight others were killed last Wednesday when the helicopter carrying them slammed into a fog-shrouded mountain near the capital.
"Yes, he had received death threats, like many other public servants," presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar told reporters.
He said government officials frequently received anonymous death threats by telephone or letter.
"It's part
Bus-Tanker Crash in Mexico Kills 38
Tanker Truck Hauling Toxic Ammonium Choloride Slams Into Bus in Mexico, Killing at Least 38
A tanker truck hauling toxic ammonium chloride slammed into a passenger bus in northwest Mexico, killing 38 people as both vehicles plunged down an embankment, police said Wednesday.
The bus flipped onto its roof in Tuesday night's crash and the tanker spilled it load of 25 tons of ammonium chloride, officials said.
Most of the victims had skin damage caused by chemical burns and authorities were trying to determine if the ammonium chloride contributed to their deaths.
"The majority … had apparently
Mexico's drug runners taking to the skies
The little Cessna raced across the Sierra Madre, flying low over the shrub forest, southbound and moving fast. The deal was done, the marijuana was delivered, and with the help of a nice tailwind, the two smugglers on board would be home by sunset.
They weren't exactly being stealthy. It was broad daylight, the single-engine plane had gray duct tape covering its registration number, and there were holes in the wings and tail where its navigation lights should have been.
But this was Sonora, the Mexican state bordering Arizona that is the Chicago O'Hare of
New security mininster appointed after helicopter crash in Mexico
Mexican President Vicente Fox on Thursday appointed Rafael Rios as the new public security minister after his predecessor Martin Huerta was killed in a helicopter crash.
Rios is undersecretary for citizen participation and criminal policy in the ministry. He spent most of his career in the National Security and Investigation Center, the government's intelligence institution.
Meanwhile, Tomas Valencia, another top official killed in the crash, will be replaced by Arturo Jimenez as the Federal Police Commander.
The National Human Rights Commission has not announced who is to replace Jose Antonio Bernal, inspector
Crew plans to tag along when butterflies migrate to Mexico
The annual arrival of millions of Monarch butterflies from the forests of eastern Canada to the central Mexican mountains for the winter is an aesthetic and scientific wonder. And this year, they won't be flying alone.
A crew plans to accompany the butterflies on their 3,415-mile-journey while riding in an oversized hang-glider painted with giant versions of the orange, black and white wings of the Monarch.
Their aim is to raise awareness for the need to better conserve the Monarchs' fragile habitats. Illegal logging is thinning and toppling the fir forests west
