Mexico City Plane Crash Kills Government Official and 7 Others

Mexico CityA Lear jet carrying 5 passengers crashed violently into a populated area last night, killing all on board and sending dozens of people to hospital. One of those confirmed dead in the plane crash is the Mexican Interior Minister, Juan Camilo Mourino.

While Americans were still going to the polls enroute to an historic election for President-elect Barak Obama, the troubled aircraft descended onto Reforma Avenue at the height of rush hour last evening about 6:45pm. Cars were instantly ignited, and the wreckage of the doomed plane was scattered over a wide area.

"It fell on top of all the traffic, which you know is completely stopped," said Arturo Sánchez Rios, a food vendor, in a report carried in the New York Times this morning. "I saw 10 to 15 cars explode in a manner of seconds."

The Lear jet was carrying Mourino together with 4 of his aides. There were 3 crewmembers on board the plane. Dozens were sent to hospital, and upwards of 2000 people were evacuated from nearby office buildings as flames shot hundreds of feet into the night sky.

Mourino was just 37 and had been one of President Felipe Calderon's closest advisors, heading up the Mexican government's security department. A drug war that has become increasingly bloody saw Mourino as the government point man in the quest to crack down on the drug lords of the country.

It is not known if Mourino's work, and involvement in the Mexican government's crackdown on drugs had anything to do with his plane going down last night. It was a government plane, so one would assume it was well maintained. There were no reports of foul weather at the time of the accident.

Mourino was attending an official government event in San Luis Potosi and was returning to Mexico City when the Lear jet went down on its approach to the airport.

Preliminary investigations have concluded that there are, as yet no signs of foul play—however the investigation is in its infancy.

Mr. Mourino's grieving family has lost a husband and father, while the National Action Party has lost a rising star. The families of the other 7 individuals who perished on board the plane as the result of the horrific crash will also be dialing in to the ongoing investigation into the cause of the plane crash, for compensatory reasons.

Beyond that, there are dozens of people on the ground, some injured and some not, who may never get over the act of an aircraft crashing down in front, behind or on top of them while they were simply driving home after a typical day at work. Many would have been arriving home with an eye to tracking the results of the historic US Presidential election. Instead, 8 were killed in the aircraft. Injuries incurred by those on the ground are as yet unknown.

Ironically, the historic day that November 4th became for the country, and for the world will instead be remembered by many for an entirely different reason…