Question - will the Mexican government invite the NTSB investigators to research the cause of this crash? It seems reasonable, given the international interest in it.
I remember when I got my license, the rules stated that one pilot had to be on oxygen encase of de-pressurization. But that was back in 2001 when i got my VFR.
If you read the article cited in the first post, the NTSB is on the way down there (probably there by now).
That is a theory, yes. What is not theory is that the airplane was being operated by a very questionable operator, flown by a 78 year old captain (with a 22 year old copilot) who had a very long day. Furthermore, the airplane was being operated as a "sales demo" which is often used as a way to avoid the legal requirements of a charter-- which this operation did not meet.
From Wiki... "The Learjet 25 is a challenging aircraft to fly in comparison with most general aviation aircraft and more modern light jets. Pilot workload is high and approach, landing and takeoff speeds are above average for civilian aircraft." We don't know anything about the pilot yet except his age... I was thinking of Buddy Holly when I read the report... bad transportation decision when it wasn't necessary. (Yes, I know, huge differences - weather in Holly's situation).
That's really not fair. The 25 is a sweetheart. If you are coming from a piston twin, it can be challenging to keep up at first, but the only place she really bites is on landing, if you get into an oscillation-- and that clearly has no relevance to this accident.
O2 rules are: 430 and above one pilot must be wearing a mask at all times. Between 250 and 430 if one pilot gets out of the seat the other pilot must wear a mask.
From AIN: Mexican Crash Probe Focuses on Legal Issues Questions about the legality of the Learjet flight that cost Latin singer Jenni Rivera and six others their lives when it crashed December 9 began almost as quickly as the accident investigation itself. The 1969 Learjet 25registered in the U.S. to Las Vegas-based Starwood Management as N345MCcrashed in a mountainous region 70 miles south of Monterrey, Mexico. Investigators are looking into whether the captain, Miguel Perez Soto, was certified to fly the aircraft and whether it was being used for an illegal charter flight. AIN has learned that Soto was issued a U.S. commercial pilot certificate for foreign-based pilots with type ratings in both the Learjet and the British Aerospace HS125 series. Both type ratings, however, were limited to VFR conditions. The aircrafts last reported altitude was FL280, which would have placed the aircraft in positive control airspace, which requires an instrument rating. Another limitation notes that 78-year-old Soto was not approved to fly either jet for compensation or hire. Some sources in the business aviation services industry said Starwood gave the singer the airplane to use free of charge, while some Mexican sources claim it was chartered. AIN could not confirm the conditions under which Starwood offered the aircraft to Rivera. An FAA official who preferred not to be named told AIN he could not understand why the Mexican Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil has been telling the media the pilots credentials were in order when a number of questions persist. There has been no word yet on what Mexican pilot certificates Soto held, although the FAA said the U.S. certificate would have taken precedence to command the N-registered Learjet, even in Mexican airspace. The NTSB is assisting the Mexicans in the investigation.
