Two commercial aircraft narrowly avoided disaster on Monday when an AeroMéxico regional jet landed just ahead of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 that had already begun accelerating for takeoff at Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport.
According to Delta, Flight 590 was rolling down Runway 5R with 144 passengers and six crew members on board when the flight crew spotted another plane descending directly in front of them. The approaching aircraft, AeroMéxico Connect Flight 1631 — an Embraer 190 — flew less than 200 feet over the Delta jet before landing.
Delta’s pilots quickly aborted the takeoff and safely returned the aircraft to the terminal. The flight, bound for Atlanta, eventually departed about three hours later.
“We appreciate the flight crew’s actions to maintain situational awareness and act quickly — part of Delta’s extensive training,” the airline said in a statement. The incident has been reported to Mexican aviation authorities, as well as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Delta confirmed it will cooperate fully with the investigation.
Neither AeroMéxico nor Mexico’s civil aviation authority have issued a public statement regarding the incident.
Mexico’s aviation safety rating was downgraded by the FAA in May 2021 due to non-compliance with international safety standards. The country regained its top-tier “Category One” rating in September 2023 after resolving the identified safety issues with FAA support.
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