Mexicana Flight 940
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Flight 940 was operating its scheduled flight route Mexico City-Puerto Vallarta-Mazatlán-Los Angeles operated by Mexicana Airlines (Compañia Mexicana de Aviación).
On March 31, 1986, the flight departed from Mexico City utilizing a Boeing 727-264 registered as XA-MEM.
Shortly into the morning flight an over-heated tire, a part of the main landing gear unit, exploded within the gear bay. It exploded because it was filled with compressed air, rather than inert nitrogen. The explosion damaged the aircraft's hydraulic and electrical systems and caused a fire. Although the crew reported the problem and declared an emergency, the aircraft crashed near Maravatio, northwest of Mexico City.
The crash killed all 167 passengers and crew and remains the deadliest airline disaster in Mexican history and is the world's worst air disaster involving the Boeing 727.
