Western Airlines Flight 2605
N903WA, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1976 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 31, 1979 |
| Summary | Runway incursion while landing on a closed runway due to pilot error and low visibility |
| Site | |
| Total fatalities | 73 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 |
| Aircraft name | Night Owl |
| Operator | Western Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | WA2605 |
| ICAO flight No. | WAL2605 |
| Call sign | WESTERN 2605 |
| Registration | N903WA |
| Flight origin | Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Destination | Mexico City International Airport Mexico City, Mexico |
| Occupants | 88 |
| Passengers | 75 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Fatalities | 72 |
| Injuries | 16 |
| Survivors | 16 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 1 |
Western Airlines Flight 2605, nicknamed the "Night Owl", was an international scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles, California to Mexico City, Mexico. On October 31, 1979, at 5:42 a.m. CST (UTC−06:00), the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashed at Mexico City International Airport in fog after landing on a runway that was closed for maintenance. Of the 88 occupants on board, 72 were killed, in addition to a maintenance worker who died when the plane struck his vehicle.
Flight 2605 is Mexico City's deadliest aviation accident and the third-deadliest on Mexican soil after the crashes of two Boeing 727s: the 1969 crash of Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704 and that of Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940 in 1986. The crash was one of three fatal DC-10 accidents in 1979, following the May crash of American Airlines Flight 191 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and preceding the November crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 into Antarctica's Mount Erebus.