Cerritos plane crash
The Event A private plane and a commercial jet
collide over a residential neighborhood
Date August 31, 1986
Place Cerritos, California
The midair collision of two planes over Cerritos highlighted
the dangers of flying in the heavily traveled airspace near
major airports.
In the 1980’s, one-third of U.S. aviation traffic was
hosted by Southern California, which had the most
congested airspace in the nation. Approximately 50
percent of near-miss airplane collisions occurred in
that region, with 114 reported by pilots in the first
eight months of 1986. Most pilots and air traffic con-
trollers relied on visual observation of airspace to de-
tect and evade nearby planes. Airline deregulation
and President Ronald Reagan’s termination of strik-
ing air traffic controllers had impeded aviation safety
efforts.
On Sunday, August 31, 1986, Aeroméxico Flight
498 approached its destination, Los Angeles Inter-
national Airport (LAX). That DC-9 jet, namedHer-
mosilloin the Aeroméxico fleet, transported six
crewmembers and fifty-eight passengers, including
both Mexican and U.S. citizens, who had boarded
the aircraft at either its departure site, Mexico City,
Mexico, or at the airports where it had stopped en
route to Los Angeles, including Guadalajara, Loreto,
and Tijuana. Meanwhile, at 11:40a.m., Pacific stan-
dard time, William Kramer, his wife, and an adult
daughter departed in a Piper Archer II airplane
from Torrance Municipal Airport, south of LAX, fly-
ing northeast toward Big Bear, California.
As he neared LAX, Aeroméxico pilot Arturo Val-
dez Prom maintained radio contact with air traffic
controllers outside Los Angeles and with his airline,
stating at 11:50a.m.that Flight 498 was on schedule
to arrive at 12:05p.m.Valdez radioed LAX at 11:51
a.m., when the Mexican jet flew inside that airport’s
terminal control area (TCA). LAX air traffic con-
troller Walter White monitored Aeroméxico Flight
498 on radar, telling Valdez he could lower the DC-
9’s altitude to six thousand feet. Another pilot then
contacted White, who became distracted while re-
sponding to that pilot’s queries. He did not notice
that Flight 498 and the Kramers’ plane were on a col-
lision course.
At an altitude of sixty-five hundred feet, Kramer’s
airplane struck the DC-9’s tail, knocking off the jet’s
horizontal stabilizer, which was crucial to maintain
control. Flight 498 plunged to the ground, crashing
into a neighborhood of Cerritos, California, south-
east of LAX, near Cerritos Elementary School. When
White looked at the radar at 11:55a.m., Flight 498
was gone. He unsuccessfully tried to contact Valdez
eight times. Another pilot in the vicinity told White
by radio that he saw smoke but could see no DC-9 in
the sky.Rescue and Investigation On the ground, surviv-
ing Cerritos residents rescued their neighbors from
houses that were on fire or broken by wreckage. The
jet’s impact disintegrated ten houses and damaged
an additional seven homes. Property losses totaled
$2.7 million. Emergency workers fought fires and lo-
cated remains that afternoon, determining that all
crew and passengers on both aircraft died. Exact ca-
sualties on the ground were not immediately known,
because some people were not at home at the time of
the crash. Investigators later determined that fifteen
deaths occurred on the ground. The Cerritos High
School gymnasium sheltered survivors. Red Cross
personnel offered counseling and relief services,
both in Cerritos and at LAX.
California governor George Deukmejian, a for-
mer state senator from the Cerritos vicinity, visited
the site on Monday. Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley
expressed his condolences and stated he would
pursue efforts to improve aviation safety. U.S. repre-
sentative Robert Dornan of Garden Grove, near
Cerritos, also viewed the site. He had endorsed legis-
lation in 1979 and 1985 that would have required air-
planes to install automated devices warning of possi-
ble collisions. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s
Office secured bodies by Monday evening and used
dental records, fingerprints, and other information
for victim identification. TheLos Angeles Timespub-
lished detailed coverage of the disasters, including
DC-9 crew and passenger names, photographs, and
a neighborhood map.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
investigators directed by John Lauber, Federal Avia-
tion Administration (FAA) personnel, and Aero-
méxico and Mexican government representatives
assessed evidence in Cerritos. The LAX air traffic
controllers’ competency was an immediate concern.
Investigators ordered drug tests for LAX controllers
and questioned White about his actions preceding192 Cerritos plane crash The Eighties in America