{{Multiple issues| {{Old news|date=July 2025}} {{Primary sources|date=July 2025}} }} {{Short description|2010 aviation accident in Mexico}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox aircraft occurrence | name = AeroUnion Flight 302 | occurrence_type = Accident | image = Aero Union Airbus A300B4; XA-TUE@LAX;21.04.2007 466ip (4288526669).jpg | alt = | caption = XA-TUE, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in 2007 | date = 13 April 2010 | summary = Stall on approach caused by [[pilot error]] | site = near [[Monterrey International Airport]], [[Monterrey]], Mexico | coordinates = {{coord|25|46|57.26|N|100|07|36.67|W|type:event_region:MX|display=inline,title}} | aircraft_type = [[Airbus A300|Airbus A300B4-203F]] | aircraft_name = ''Margo'' | operator = [[Avianca Cargo México|AeroUnion]] | IATA = 6R302 | ICAO = TNO302 | callsign = AEROUNION 302 | tail_number = XA-TUE | origin = [[Mexico City International Airport]], Mexico City, Mexico | stopover = [[Monterrey International Airport]], Monterrey, Mexico | destination = [[Los Angeles International Airport]], Los Angeles, United States | occupants = 5 | passengers = 0 | crew = 5 | fatalities = 5 | survivors = 0 | total_fatalities = 6 | ground_fatalities = 1 }} '''AeroUnion Flight 302''', operated by an [[Airbus A300]] cargo aircraft, crashed in poor weather on [[Final approach (aviation)|final approach]] at [[Monterrey International Airport]], [[Monterrey, Mexico]] around 23:18 [[Central Time Zone (North America)|CDT]] on 13 April 2010, after a flight from [[Mexico City]]. All five people on board were killed, as well as one on the ground.<ref name="ASN130410">{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |date= |title=Accident description |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20100413-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420184936/http://aviation-safety.net:80/database/record.php?id=20100413-1 |archive-date=20 April 2010 |accessdate=11 October 2011 |website=[[Flight Safety Foundation#Aviation Safety Network|Aviation Safety Network]] |publisher=[[Flight Safety Foundation]]}}</ref><ref name="FlightGlobal">{{Cite web |last=Kaminski-Morrow |first=David |date= |title=Investigators retrieve flight recorders from crashed A300F |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/investigators-retrieve-flight-recorders-from-crashed-340651/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102185610/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/investigators-retrieve-flight-recorders-from-crashed-340651/ |archive-date=2 November 2012 |accessdate=11 October 2011 |website=[[FlightGlobal]]}}</ref>
==Aircraft and crew involved== The aircraft involved was built in 1979 and after service with a number of operators was leased to [[AeroUnion|Aerounión – Aerotransporte de Carga Unión]] (as of 2025, Avianca Cargo Mexico) in April 2002 and registered as XA-TUE. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had flown for 55,200 hours and made 27,600 landings.<ref name=Airbus/>
The captain was 56-year-old Adolfo Muller Pazos, who had 16,754 flight hours, including 5,446 hours on the Airbus A300. The first officer was 37-year-old José Manuel Guerra, who had 3,114 flight hours, with 1,994 of them on the Airbus A300. The flight engineer was 34-year-old Humberto Castillo Vera, who had 3,038 flight hours, 1,461 of them on the Airbus A300. Also on board was an observer pilot, 25-year-old Manfred Muller, who had 206 flight hours, and 36-year-old aircraft technician Érick Guzmán.<ref name="SCT final report" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=2010-04-14|title=Mueren 5 al caer un avión de carga|trans-title=5 are killed when a cargo plane falls|url=https://vlex.com.mx/vid/mueren-5-caer-avion-carga-192572371|access-date={{Date|2021-02-26|dmy}}|newspaper=vLex|language=es-MX|df=dmy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250223035742/https://vlex.com.mx/vid/mueren-5-caer-avion-carga-192572371|archive-date={{Date|2025-02-23|dmy}}|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Accident== At about 23:18 local time on 13 April (04:18 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] on 14 April),<ref name=ASN130410/> AeroUnion Flight 302 executed a missed approach after a landing attempt and crashed.<ref name=AH42a18e75/> The [[Airbus A300|Airbus A300B4-203F]] was on a scheduled international freight service from [[Mexico City International Airport]] via [[Monterrey International Airport]], Monterrey, to [[Los Angeles International Airport]], Los Angeles. The crew had been cleared to land the aircraft on runway 11 at Mariano Escobedo Airport, but it crashed onto the Avenida Miguel Alemán motorway, almost {{convert|2|km|mi|spell=in}} short of the runway threshold. It struck a car, killing the driver. The airplane broke up and burst into flames. All five occupants of the aircraft were killed.<ref name=ASN130410 />
There was a storm that caused windshear and heavy rain, with a ceiling varying between {{convert|500|and|800|ft|m}}.<ref name="AH42a18e75">{{cite news|last=|first=|date=2010-04-14|title=Recuperan caja negra tras avionazo en Monterrey|trans-title=Black box recovered after plane crash in Monterrey|url=http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Nacional/14042010/441349.aspx|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928084645/http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnLinea/Notas/Nacional/14042010/441349.aspx|archivedate=28 September 2011|accessdate=14 April 2010|newspaper=Frontera.Info|language=es-MX|df=dmy}}</ref> The [[METAR]] in force at the time of the accident stated visibility of {{convert|7|mi|km}} with light rain. Cloud cover was "broken" at {{convert|2,500|ft|m}}, overcast at {{convert|5,000|ft|m}}. with intra-cloud lightning observed.<ref name=ASN130410/>
==Investigation== The [[Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil|Direction General of Civil Aeronautics]] (DGAC) of the [[Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (Mexico)|Ministry of Communications and Transportation of Mexico]] (SCT) opened an investigation into the accident. Assistance was provided by [[Airbus]], the aircraft's manufacturer; and by France's aircraft accident investigation body, the [[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] (BEA).<ref name=Airbus>{{cite web|url=http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/crisis_statement/Flight302_AeroUnion.html |title=Media Information on Aero Union Cargo flight 302 |publisher=Airbus |accessdate=15 April 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419025033/http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/crisis_statement/Flight302_AeroUnion.html |archivedate=19 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The investigation noted that on final approach the speed decreased to {{convert|110|kn|km/h mph}} (more than {{convert|20|kn|km/h mph}} below typical final approach speed) followed by the crew pulling the control column which resulted in further speed decay and increased angle of attack. The stick shaker, stall warning and Alpha Floor protection activated and caused the engines to accelerate to maximum thrust. In response to the pitch up momentum produced by the accelerating engines, the control column was pushed forward, however the trim was at 10.25 degrees nose up and was not adjusted. The aircraft pitched up reaching an angle of attack of 41 degrees, the speed decayed to {{convert|70|kn|km/h mph}}, the stick shaker and stall warning activated again, the control column was at its forward stop, and the aircraft began to descend. During the last 10 seconds of flight the control column was reversed to its backward stop while the aircraft was losing height until impact.<ref name="SCT final report">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=INFORME ACCIDENTE|trans-title=ACCIDENT REPORT|url=http://www.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/DireccionesGrales/DGAC-archivo/modulo12/xa-tue.pdf|url-status=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618034857/http://www.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/DireccionesGrales/DGAC-archivo/modulo12/xa-tue.pdf |archive-date=18 June 2020 |access-date={{Date|2020-06-17|dmy}}|website=|publisher=Direction General of Civil Aeronautics|language=es-MX|id=ACCY-022/10MMMY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hradecky |first=Simon |date=2010-04-14 |title=Crash: AeroUnion A30B at Monterrey on Apr 13th 2010, lost height on approach and impacted highway |url=http://avherald.com/h?article=42a18e75&opt=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307144345/http://avherald.com/h?article=42a18e75&opt=0 |archive-date=7 March 2017 |access-date={{Date|2020-06-17|dmy}} |website=[[The Aviation Herald]]|df=dmy}}</ref>
==See also== *[[China Airlines Flight 140]], another Airbus A300 that stalled on approach in Japan due to [[pilot error]]. *[[China Airlines Flight 676]], another Airbus A300 that stalled on approach in Taiwan due to pilot error. *[[Colgan Air Flight 3407]] *[[Air France Flight 447]] *[[Turkish Airlines Flight 1951]] *[[United Express Flight 6291]] *[[Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Mexico|Aviation}} * "[http://www.bea.aero/en/enquetes/monterrey/com16april2010.php Accident to Flight 302 on 13 April 2010 A 300-B4, registered XA-TUE]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}." [[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] * "[http://stagev4.airbus.com/en/presscentre/crisis_statement/Flight302_AeroUnion.html AERO UNION CARGO FLIGHT 302 ACCIDENT NEAR MONTERREY MEXICO]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}." [[Airbus]] * [[Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Mexico)|Secretariat of Communications and Transportation of Mexico]] ** {{in lang|es}} "[http://www.sct.gob.mx/en/show-news/article/comunicado-de-prensa-no-055-inicia-investigacion-del-avion-siniestrado-en-nuevo-leon/ Comunicado de Prensa No. 055.- Inicia investigación del avión siniestrado en Nuevo León]." ([http://www.sct.gob.mx/uploads/media/Comunicado-055-10.doc Archive]) ** {{in lang|es}} "[http://www.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/DireccionesGrales/comSoc/ComSocial/ESTADOS_16_04_2010.pdf ACCIDENTE AEREO – AIRBUS A300 B4F]."{{dead link|date=April 2012}} {{Aviation accidents and incidents in 2010}} {{Aviation accidents and incidents in Mexico}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aerounion Flight 302}} [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Mexico]] [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving cargo aircraft]] [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A300]] [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2010]] [[Category:April 2010 in Mexico]]