Aeroméxico Flight 498: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|1986 mid-air collision in California}}

{|align="right" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0

{{Use American English|date=August 2016}}

|{{Infobox Mid-air accident|name=Aeroméxico Flight 498<br>Piper PA-28|

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2016}}

Crash image=Cerritos Air Disaster.jpg|Image caption=The scene of the crash of Aeroméxico Flight 498|

{{Infobox aircraft occurrence

Date=[[August 31]], [[1986]] |

Type| occurrence_type = Mid-air collision|

| image = Aeroméxico498.jpg

Site=[[Cerritos, California]]|

| caption = A photograph of Flight 498 after the collision, showing it inverted and missing most of its [[vertical stabilizer]]

Fatalities=67, plus 15 on ground|

| date = August 31, 1986

Injuries= 0|

| type = [[Mid-air collision]]

Aircraft Type=[[Douglas DC-9|Douglas DC-9-32]]|

| site = [[Cerritos, California|Cerritos]], [[California]], U.S.

Operator=[[Aeroméxico]]|

| total_fatalities = 82

Tail Number={{airreg|XA|JED|disaster}}|

| total_injuries = 8

Passengers=58|

| total_survivors = 0

Crew=6|

| coordinates = {{coord|33|52|05|N|118|02|44|W|region:US-CA_type:event_scale:5000|display=inline,title}}

Survivors =0|

| plane1_type = [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9|McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32]]

Aircraft 2 Type=[[Piper Cherokee|Piper PA-28-181 Archer]]|

| plane1_image = XA-JED Douglas DC-9-32 Aeromexico.jpg

Operator 2=Private|

| plane1_caption = XA-JED, the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9|McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32]] involved in the collision, seen in 1982

Tail Number 2=N4891F|

| plane1_origin = [[Mexico City International Airport]]<br />[[Mexico City]], Mexico

Passengers 2=2|

| plane1_stopover0 = [[Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport]]<br />[[Guadalajara, Jalisco|Guadalajara]], [[Jalisco]], Mexico

Crew 2=1|

| plane1_stopover1 = [[Loreto International Airport]]<br />[[Loreto, Baja California Sur|Loreto]],<!-- [[Loreto Municipality, Baja California Sur|Loreto Municipality]],--> [[Baja California Sur]], Mexico

Survivors 2=0|

| plane1_laststopover = [[Tijuana International Airport|General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport]]<br />[[Tijuana]], [[Baja California]], Mexico

| plane1_destination = [[Los Angeles International Airport]]<br />[[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.

| plane1_operator = [[Aeroméxico]]

| plane1_IATA = AM498

| plane1_ICAO = AMX498

| plane1_callsign = AEROMEXICO 498

| plane1_tailnum = {{Airreg|XA|JED}}

| plane1_name = ''[[Hermosillo]]''

| plane1_occupants = 64

| plane1_passengers = 58

| plane1_crew = 6

| plane1_fatalities = 64

| plane1_injuries =

| plane1_survivors = 0

| plane2_type = [[Piper PA-28 Cherokee#Variants|Piper PA-28-181 Archer]]

| plane2_image = Piper PA-28-181 Archer II.jpg

| plane2_caption = A [[Piper PA-28 Cherokee|Piper PA-28-181 Archer]], similar to the one involved in the collision

| plane2_origin = [[Zamperini Field]]<br />[[Torrance, California]], U.S.

| plane2_destination = [[Big Bear City Airport]]<br />[[Big Bear Lake, California]], U.S.

| plane2_operator = Private

| plane2_tailnum = {{Airreg|N|4891F}}

| plane2_occupants = 3

| plane2_passengers = 2

| plane2_crew = 1

| plane2_injuries =

| plane2_fatalities = 3

| plane2_survivors = 0

| ground_fatalities = 15

| ground_injuries = 8

}}

'''Aeroméxico Flight 498''' was a scheduled commercial flight from [[Mexico City]], Mexico, to [[Los Angeles]], California, United States, with several intermediate stops. On Sunday, August 31, 1986, the [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9]] operating the flight was clipped in the tail section by N4891F, a [[Piper PA-28 Cherokee|Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee]] owned by the Kramer family, and crashed into the Los Angeles suburb of [[Cerritos, California|Cerritos]], killing all 64 on the DC-9, all three in the Piper, and an additional 15 people on the ground. Eight on the ground also sustained minor injuries.<ref name=jpcolasr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ng1XAAAAIBAJ&pg=5741%2C8607 |work=Spokesman-Review |___location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=wire reports |title=Jet, plane collide near L.A. |date=September 1, 1986 |page=A1 |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-date=October 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029110407/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ng1XAAAAIBAJ&pg=5741,8607 |url-status=live }}</ref> Blame was assessed equally on the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) and the pilot of the Cherokee. No fault was found with the DC-9 or the actions of its crew.

==Background==

=== Accident summary ===

On Sunday, August 31, 1986, around 11:46&nbsp;am PDT, Flight 498 began its [[descent (aeronautics)|descent]] into Los Angeles with 58 passengers and six crew members on board. At 11:52&nbsp;am, the Piper collided nearly perpendicular to the upper left side of the [[horizontal stabilizer]] support structure of the DC-9, shearing off the top of the Piper's cockpit and [[decapitation|decapitating]] Kramer and both of his passengers.<ref name="NTSB"/> The heavily damaged Piper descended uncontrollably after the collision, entering a flat spin, and falling onto an empty playground at {{nowrap|[[Cerritos Elementary School]].<ref>located at these coordinates: {{coord|33|51|55.76|N|118|2|23.97|W}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Story of Cerritos: Chapter 8 1976–1986 – Growth, Development and an Unnatural Disaster|url=http://menu.ci.cerritos.ca.us/collections/local_history/cl_lhStory8.htm|publisher=City of Cerritos|access-date=March 26, 2009|archive-date=November 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115175357/http://menu.ci.cerritos.ca.us/collections/local_history/cl_lhStory8.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

The DC-9, with its horizontal stabilizer, rudder, and half of its vertical stabilizer torn off, over-banked to the right until it became inverted, and simultaneously entered a steep dive. It slammed into a residential neighborhood at Holmes Avenue and Reva Circle in [[Cerritos, California|Cerritos]], crashing into the back yard of a house at 13426 Ashworth Place, where it exploded on impact. The explosion scattered the DC-9's wreckage across Holmes Avenue and onto Carmenita Road, destroying four other houses and damaging seven more.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 2, 1986 |title=Aircraft Collision Over Los Angeles Suburb |work=Daily Herald |___location=Chicago |page=6}}</ref> All 64 passengers and crew on board died (plus 15 people on the ground);<ref name="NTSB">{{Cite web |date=July 7, 1987 |title=Aircraft accident report: Collision of Aeronaves de Mexico, S.A. McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, XA-JED and Piper PA-28-181, N4891F. Cerritos, California. August 31, 1986 |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR8707.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603171822/https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR8707.pdf |archive-date=June 3, 2023 |access-date= |website= |publisher=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |id=NTSB/AAR-87/07 |url-status=live }} - [https://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR87-07.pdf Copy at] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230901060856/https://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR87-07.pdf |date=September 1, 2023 }} [[Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University]].</ref> a fire added to the damage.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

'''[[Aeroméxico]] Flight 498''', registration XA-JED, was a [[Douglas DC-9|Douglas DC-9-32]] en route from [[Mexico City]], [[Mexico]] to [[Los Angeles International Airport]], [[Los Angeles, California]] on [[August 31]], [[1986]]. '''N4891F''' was a privately-operated [[Piper Cherokee|Piper PA-28-181 Archer]] en route from [[Torrance, California|Torrance]] to [[Big Bear City, California]]. The two aircraft collided in mid-air over [[Cerritos, California]], killing all 67 aboard both aircraft and 15 people on the ground.

=== Aircraft ===

At approximately 11:46 AM, Flight 498 began its descent into Los Angeles with 58 passengers and six crew members aboard. Minutes earlier, N4891F, carrying a pilot and two passengers, departed Torrance. At 11:52 AM, the Piper collided with the left [[horizontal stabilizer]] of the DC-9; this sheared off the top of the Piper's cockpit, decapitating the three occupants.

The larger aircraft involved, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, with tail number XA-JED,<ref>{{cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 XA-JED Cerritos, CA |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19860831-0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902011147/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19860831-0 |archive-date=September 2, 2010 |access-date=August 31, 2016 |website=Aviation Safety Network |publisher=[[Flight Safety Foundation]]}}</ref> named ''[[Hermosillo]]'', was delivered in April 1969 to [[Delta Air Lines]] as N1277L before entering into service with [[Aeroméxico]] in November 1979.<ref>{{cite web |title=Airliners.net – Aviation Photography, Discussion Forums & News |url=http://www.airliners.net/photo/AeroMexico/McDonnell-Douglas-DC-9-32/0630543/%26sid%3De44f76e404d27462701a775daa63e15f |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061515/http://www.airliners.net/photo/AeroMexico/McDonnell-Douglas-DC-9-32/0630543/%26sid%3De44f76e404d27462701a775daa63e15f |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=August 31, 2016}}</ref> It was flying from Mexico City to [[Los Angeles International Airport]] (LAX), with intermediate stops in [[Guadalajara, Jalisco|Guadalajara]], [[Loreto, Baja California Sur|Loreto]], and [[Tijuana]].<ref>Magnuson, Ed (June 24, 2001). [https://web.archive.org/web/20080127104310/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,144979,00.html "Collision in the 'Birdcage{{'"}}]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20080127104310/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,144979,00.html the original] January 27, 2008.</ref>

N4891F was a privately operated Piper PA-28-181 Archer owned by the Kramer family, which was flying from [[Torrance, California|Torrance]] to [[Big Bear City, California|Big Bear City]], California. The Piper aircraft was piloted by William Kramer, 53. His wife Kathleen, 51, and daughter Caroline, 26, were also aboard. Their plane had departed Torrance around {{nowrap|11:40&nbsp;am [[Pacific Time Zone|PDT]].}} Kramer had 231 flight hours of experience and had moved to Southern California within the last year from [[Spokane, Washington]].<ref name="exspppln">{{cite news |last1=Carollo |first1=Russell |last2=Caldwell |first2=Bert |date=September 2, 1986 |title=Ex-Spokanite piloted plane that hit DC-9 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Nw1XAAAAIBAJ&pg=5330%2C435286 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031220700/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Nw1XAAAAIBAJ&pg=5330%2C435286 |archive-date=October 31, 2021 |access-date=December 10, 2020 |work=Spokesman-Review |___location=(Spokane, Washington) |page=A1}}</ref>

The DC-9 inverted and fell to the earth in the residential neighborhood of Cerritos, killing 15 on the ground and all 64 passengers and crew. Five homes were destroyed and seven damaged. A fire sparked by the crash contributed significantly to the damage. The remains of the Piper (and its deceased occupants) fell into a schoolyard, but no one on the ground was killed.

The cockpit crew of Flight 498 consisted of Captain Arturo Valdes Prom (46) and First Officer Jose Hector Valencia (26). The captain had 4,632&nbsp;hours of flying experience in the DC-9 and a total of 10,641 flight hours. The first officer had flown 1,463 hours, of which 1,245 hours had been accumulated in the DC-9.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The [[National Transportation Safety Board]] investigation found that N4891F had deviated into the [[restricted airspace]] of the LAX Terminal Control Area. It was out of radio contact with air traffic control, which had been distracted by another flight entering the area. Moreover, the Piper was not equipped with a transponder indicating its altitude, and LAX had not been equipped with automatic warning systems. Finally, neither pilot had sighted the other aircraft, even though they were in visual range. When an autopsy revealed significant arterial blockage in the heart of the Piper's pilot, there was public speculation that he had suffered a heart attack, causing incapacitation and contributing to the collision; however, further forensic evidence discounted this, and error on the part of the Piper pilot was determined to be the main contributing factor to the collision.

=== Passengers and crew ===

As a result of this accident and other near-misses in terminal control areas, the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] required all commercial aircraft be equipped with traffic alert and collision avoidance systems ([[Traffic Collision Avoidance System|TCAS]]), and required that light aircraft operating in dense airspaces be equipped with transponders that could report three-dimensional position.

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

!|Nationality||Passengers||{{spaces|2}}Crew{{spaces|2}}||{{spaces|2}}Total{{spaces|2}}

|-

|align=left|Colombia||1||0||1

|-

|align=left|El Salvador||1||0||1

|-

|align=left|Mexico||20||5||25

|- valign=top

|align=left|United States||36||1||37

|-

|'''Total'''||'''58'''||'''6'''||'''64'''

|}

Thirty-six of the passengers were citizens of the United States. Of the 20 Mexican citizens, 11 lived in the U.S. and nine lived in Mexico. One Salvadoran citizen lived in [[Islip, New York|Islip]], [[New York (state)|New York]]. Ten of the passengers were children.<ref name="nationality">{{Cite news |last= |date=September 2, 1986 |title=Collision Victims on DC-9 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/02/us/collision-victims-on-dc-9.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402165615/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/02/us/collision-victims-on-dc-9.html |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |access-date= |work=The New York Times |page=17 |edition=Late City Final |issn=0362-4331 |agency=Upi}}</ref>

==Investigation and aftermath==

[[Image:AeroMexico498 Annotated.jpg|thumb|left|Annotated aerial view of the site where the Aeroméxico plane crashed: The Piper crashed in the playground of [[Cerritos Elementary School]] about a kilometer away.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2014/01/13/cerritos-remembers-1986-plane-crash/|title=Cerritos remembers 1986 plane crash|date=January 13, 2014|publisher=[[Orange County Register]]|first=Brittany|last=Woolsey|access-date=September 3, 2023|archive-date=September 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903013118/https://www.ocregister.com/2014/01/13/cerritos-remembers-1986-plane-crash/|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

The U.S. [[National Transportation Safety Board]] (NTSB) investigation found that the Piper had entered the Los Angeles [[Terminal Control Area]] (TCA) airspace (now [[Airspace class|Class B Airspace]]) without the required clearance. The TCA included a triangular slab of airspace from {{convert|6000|to|7000|ft|-2}} of altitude, reaching south to {{coord|33.714|N|118.007|W}} across the Piper's intended flight path. The Piper could legally fly beneath this airspace without contacting air traffic control (ATC), but instead climbed into the TCA. The ATC had been distracted by another unauthorized private flight, a [[Grumman American AA-5|Grumman AA-5B Tiger]], entering the TCA directly north of the airfield, which also did not have clearance.

The Piper was not equipped with a mode C [[transponder (aviation)|transponder]], nor was one required, which would have indicated its altitude, and LAX was not equipped with automatic warning systems. Neither pilot appeared to have attempted any evasive maneuvers, because neither pilot sighted the other aircraft, although they were in visual range. When an [[autopsy]] revealed significant arterial blockage in Kramer's heart, public speculation arose suggesting that he had experienced a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] that incapacitated him and led to the collision,{{nowrap|<ref name=popshat>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Nw1XAAAAIBAJ&pg=2981%2C445799 |work=Spokesman-Review |___location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=wire services |title=Pilot of plane suffered heart attack |date=September 2, 1986 |page=A1 |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030162031/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Nw1XAAAAIBAJ&pg=2981%2C445799 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} but further forensic evidence discounted the theory and Kramer's error was determined to be the main contributing factor to the collision.<ref name="NTSB"/>

As a result of this accident and other near-midair collisions in TCAs, the FAA required that all large commercial jets<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/135.180 | title=14 CFR § 135.180 - Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-G/part-121/subpart-K/section-121.356 | title=Federal Register :: Request Access }}</ref> in U.S. airspace be equipped with a [[traffic collision avoidance system]] <!-- (TCAS) --> and required that light aircraft operating in dense airspaces be equipped with mode C transponders, which can report their altitude.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gerber |first=Larry |date=September 1, 1996 |title=1986 Cerritos crash changed the way we fly |work=The Intelligencer Record |___location=Doylestown, Pa. |page=A-13 |agency=AP}}</ref>

A jury ruled that the DC-9 bore no fault, instead deciding that Kramer and the FAA each acted equally negligently and bore equal responsibility.<ref>{{cite news|date=1989-04-15|title=Jury Fixes Blame for Crash That Killed 82|work=The New York Times|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/15/us/jury-fixes-blame-for-crash-that-killed-82.html|access-date=2013-11-13|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007194816/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/15/us/jury-fixes-blame-for-crash-that-killed-82.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Federal Air Regulations 14 CFR 91.113 (b) require pilots of all aircraft to maintain vigilance to "see and avoid"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Electronic Code of Federal Regulations|url=https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div8&node=14:2.0.1.3.10.2.4.7|access-date=2019-09-11|archive-date=June 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603213803/https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div8&node=14:2.0.1.3.10.2.4.7|url-status=live}}</ref> other aircraft that might be on conflicting flight paths.

[[File:CerritosAirDisasterImpactPoints.png|thumb|[[NTSB]] drawing portraying approximate point of impact]]

The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] applied the [[Supreme Court of California]]'s ruling in ''[[Thing v. La Chusa]]'' to extend recovery for [[negligent infliction of emotional distress]] to Theresa Estrada, whose husband and two of four children were killed on the ground as the result of the crash. In the television documentary ''Mayday'', Estrada reported that she saw the explosion from a distance;<ref>{{Cite web|title=Devastating Collision On Flight 498 {{!}} Out Of Sight {{!}} Mayday: Air Disaster|website=[[YouTube]]|date=September 30, 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdnq7pPMDgQ|language=en|access-date=2021-10-01|archive-date=July 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724023759/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdnq7pPMDgQ|url-status=live}} - The content showing Estrada discussing witnessing AM498 is at about 14:30. Access date from a different URL.</ref> ''Thing'' requires that the person be at the scene and aware of the injury being caused to the victim.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thing v. La Chusa {{!}} Case Brief for Law Students|url=https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/torts/torts-keyed-to-prosser/duty-of-care/thing-v-la-chusa/|access-date=2021-10-01|archive-date=October 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001181531/https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/torts/torts-keyed-to-prosser/duty-of-care/thing-v-la-chusa/|url-status=live}}</ref> She arrived minutes later, with her home consumed by fire and surrounded by burning homes, cars, and aircraft debris. In a separate trial on damages, the Estrada family was awarded a total of $868,263 (about $1,908,674.77 in 2024) in economic damages and $4.7 million in noneconomic damages (about $10.3 million in 2024), including $1 million (about $2,198,268.00 in 2024) for the negligent infliction of emotional distress.<ref name=NIEDcase>''In Re Air Crash Disaster Near Cerritos'', [http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/967/1421/464619/ 967 F.2d 1421] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105183738/http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/967/1421/464619/ |date=November 5, 2013 }} (9th Cir.1992)</ref>

==In popular culture==

The [[Discovery Channel Canada]]/[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] television series ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]'' featured the accident in a season-four episode titled "[[List of Mayday episodes#ep32|Out of Sight]]".<ref name="Mayday Falling From the Sky">{{Cite episode |title=Falling From the Sky |series=Mayday |series-link=Mayday (Canadian TV series) |network=[[Discovery Channel Canada]] / [[National Geographic Channel]] |year=2007 |season=4}}</ref> The accident was featured again during season eight in a compilation episode titled "[[List of Mayday episodes#ep57|System Breakdown]]".<ref name="Mayday System Breakdown">{{Cite episode |title=System Breakdown |series=Mayday |series-link=Mayday (Canadian TV series) |network=[[Discovery Channel Canada]] / [[National Geographic Channel]] |year=2009 |season=8}}</ref>

A similar accident is depicted in the ''[[Breaking Bad]]'' episode "[[ABQ (Breaking Bad)|ABQ]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-03-mn-522-story.html|title=Air Controller's Nightmare: 'I Lost an Airplane'|date=1986-12-03|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2019-09-11|archive-date=February 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206001840/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-03-mn-522-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telltalesonline.com/15676/mind-blowing-things-you-never-noticed-in-breaking-bad/|title=13 Mind-Blowing Things You Never Noticed In 'Breaking Bad'|date=2015-06-21|website=Tell Tales|publisher=telltalesonline|access-date=2019-09-11|archive-date=September 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910215423/http://www.telltalesonline.com/15676/mind-blowing-things-you-never-noticed-in-breaking-bad/|url-status=live}}</ref>

It is featured in season one, episode five, of the TV show ''[[Why Planes Crash]]'', in an episode called "Collision Course".

In August 2022, [[KNBC]] produced ''The Nightmare of Flight 498'', led by reporter Hetty Chang, who had been a seven-year-old child residing in the neighborhood where the DC-9 crashed and a student at the school where the Piper Cherokee crashed. Interspersed with news reports from the crash, Chang interviewed her parents, neighbors (including one who resided at 13426 Ashworth Place where the DC-9 exploded), and first responders about their recollections of the crash.

==Gallery of memorial at the Cerritos Sculpture Garden==

{{gallery|mode=packed

|File:Cerritos Air Disaster Memorial.JPG|Cerritos Air Disaster Memorial

|File:Cerritos Air Disaster Memorial Casualties.JPG|Close-up of the names of the victims

|File:Cerritos Air Disaster Memorial Dedication plaque.JPG|Dedication plaque at the base of the bench

}}

==See also==

{{Portal|Greater Los Angeles|Mexico|Aviation|1980s}}

* [[2025 Potomac River mid-air collision|American Airlines Flight 5342]], a similar midair collision near [[Washington, DC]], in 2025.

* [[Proteus Airlines Flight 706]], a similar midair collision between a [[Beechcraft 1900]] and a [[Cessna 177 Cardinal]] over [[Quiberon Bay]], [[Brittany]], [[France]], in 1998.

* [[Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182]], a similar midair collision between a [[Boeing 727]] and a [[Cessna 172]] in [[San Diego, California]], in 1978.

* [[Hughes Airwest Flight 706]], a similar midair collision between a DC-9 and a [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] over [[Los Angeles, California]], in 1971.

* [[Allegheny Airlines Flight 853]], a similar crash that occurred, also with a DC-9 and Piper Cherokee, in [[Fairland, Indiana]] in 1969.

* [[Piedmont Airlines Flight 22]], a similar crash that occurred with a 727 in [[Hendersonville, North Carolina]], in 1967.

* [[TWA Flight 553]], a similar crash that occurred near [[Urbana, Ohio]], and involved a new DC-9 and a small plane, in 1967.

==References==

{{Reflist}}

*[http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR87-07.pdf Aircraft Accident Report], [[National Transportation Safety Board]], adopted [[July 7]], [[1987]]

*[http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=DCA86AA041A&rpt=fa Brief of Accident], NTSB, adopted [[March 7]], [[1988]],

==External links==

* [http://www.aopa.org/asf/asfarticles/2001/sp0101.html Collision Over Cerritos], [[Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association]]

{{commons category}}

* [https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=DCA86AA041A&rpt=fa NTSB.gov], Brief of Accident, NTSB, adopted March 7, 1988

* [https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A87_96_98.pdf NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter] ([http://airflightdisaster.com/index.php/ntsb-history-of-cases/aeronaves-de-mexico-safety-recommendation-letter/ Alternate])

{{McDonnell Douglas DC-9 family}}

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1986}}

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1980s}}

{{Cerritos, California}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aeroméxico Flight 498}}

[[Category:1986 in the United States]]

[[Category:1986 disastersin California]]

[[Category:Accidents and incidents oninvolving commercialthe airliners in theMcDonnell UnitedDouglas StatesDC-9]]

[[Category:HistoryAeroméxico ofaccidents Californiaand incidents]]

[[Category:MidairAirliner airlineraccidents crashesand incidents caused by pilot error]]

[[Category:Airliner crashesaccidents causedand byincidents pilotin errorCalifornia]]

[[Category:August 1986 in the United States]]

[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by air traffic controller error]]

[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in California]]

[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1986]]

[[Category:Cerritos, California]]

[[Category:History of air traffic control]]

[[Category:Mid-air collisions involving airliners]]

[[Category:Mid-air collisions involving general aviation aircraft]]

[[Category:Mid-air collisions in the United States]]