BajaNomad

Sad News: CNN International: Plane of missing singer found in Mexico

Ken Cooke - 12-9-2012 at 07:14 PM



Mexico City (CNN) -- Mexican authorities said Sunday they found the wreckage of a small plane that they believe was carrying Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera.
Six others, including two pilots, were also thought to be on board the plane, which took off from Monterrey, Mexico, earlier in the day and soon lost contact with air traffic controllers.
"Everything points to that this is the plane," Communication and Transportation Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza told CNN affiliate Foro TV, about a wreckage site in the northern state of Nuevo Leon.
His ministry issued a statement saying authorities were working to access the site by land in order to confirm exactly what's there.
Alejandro Argudin, director general of Civil Aviation, said he believes no one on board survived the crash. "The aircraft was destroyed, totally fragmented," he told CNN affiliate Televisa.
Born in Long Beach, California, to Mexican immigrant parents, Rivera, 43, released her debut album in 1999, according to her website. She sings traditional Mexican ballads, and was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award in 2002 in the category of "Best Banda Album."
In October, People en Espanol named Rivera to its list of the 25 most powerful women.
Famous for her music, she is also known for her tumultuous personal life. The singer was a single mom at the age of 15 and is the mother of five, her website said.
Rivera's "I Love Jenni" reality show began airing on Telemundo's mun2 network last year.
She is a judge on the popular TV show, "The Voice, Mexico," which was scheduled to air Sunday night. Noting its concern for Rivera, Televisa said it would air a special report on the singer instead.
A fellow judge on the show took to Twitter following news of Rivera's disappearance.
"My heart is devastated," wrote Beto Cuevas. "All my prayers are with you, Jenni, and your family."
The private LearJet took off from Monterrey at 3:15 a.m. and lost contact with air traffic controllers about 60 miles away, according to a statement from the transportation ministry. The singer had a concert in the northern Mexican city Saturday night.
Two helicopters assisted in the search for the plane, which had as its destination the airport in Toluca, near Mexico City. The cause of the suspected crash was not immediately clear, and the ministry has opened an investigation.
CNNMexico.com contributed to this report.

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aguachico - 12-10-2012 at 02:10 AM

Very sad. She was just here in TJ not too long ago. RIP

woody with a view - 12-10-2012 at 08:23 AM

yeah, i remember seeing her name painted on many walls all over san quintin a couple of years ago. i wondered how in the hell could someone make money playing san q? anyway, sounds like Mexico lost a good one....:saint:

EnsenadaDr - 12-10-2012 at 08:45 AM

Appears they took off about 3:30 a.m. and crashed into the side of a mountain in Monterrey...they should have waited till dawn so they could have seen better. Maybe the pilot was unfamiliar with the area.

bajaguy - 12-10-2012 at 08:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
Appears they took off about 3:30 a.m. and crashed into the side of a mountain in Monterrey...they should have waited till dawn so they could have seen better. Maybe the pilot was unfamiliar with the area.





It's called CFIT....controlled flight into terrain....And maybe the crew didn't check their charts or maybe the aircraft radar didn't work or maybe the ATC's were asleep.....ultimate responsibility is with the pilot/crew.......but we are jumping to conclusions regarding the cause of the crash.

woody with a view - 12-10-2012 at 09:03 AM

it happens...

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-09-15/local/me-768_1_air-tr...

Jenni Rivera

baja09 - 12-10-2012 at 10:39 AM

What a shame.............RIP Jenni ...... As a pilot ,and Mechanic , Im am shocked at these accidents...we are trained to know the Terrain BEFORE takeoff...........although The Lear Jet was built and certifcated in 1969, its top of the line , with all the upgraded fight safety instruments....that same aircraft had a Crash in texas in 2005 , fuel tank issues...time will tell if that was an issue..NTSB takes a long time on these reports..we always saw plenty of Jenni posters along our travels south......now we wont see them unless they were painted ,kinda like old political posters....sooo sad..........goodbye Jenni......

Going DOWN ?

MrBillM - 12-11-2012 at 11:45 AM

As usual, speculation absent facts usually leads to erroneous conclusions.

While there likely won't be a lot of verified info soon, The a.m. news did note that the Lear went abruptly from 35,000 to 9,000 ft before disappearing.

IF true, that is an indication of something going catastrophically wrong.

EnsenadaDr - 12-11-2012 at 11:56 AM

Found the info on the sudden drop, the pilot was 78 years old, who knows, he could have had a stroke, but there were 2 pilots, unless the cabin decompressed and there was no automatic pilot like in the case of the golfer, Payne Stewart. In any case, its a strange situation, and complicated by the fact the company that owned the Jet had a criminal history of transporting cocaine.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/12/10/jenni-river...
Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
As usual, speculation absent facts usually leads to erroneous conclusions.

While there likely won't be a lot of verified info soon, The a.m. news did note that the Lear went abruptly from 35,000 to 9,000 ft before disappearing.

IF true, that is an indication of something going catastrophically wrong.


[Edited on 12-11-2012 by EnsenadaDr]

LancairDriver - 12-11-2012 at 12:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MrBillM
As usual, speculation absent facts usually leads to erroneous conclusions.

While there likely won't be a lot of verified info soon, The a.m. news did note that the Lear went abruptly from 35,000 to 9,000 ft before disappearing.

IF true, that is an indication of something going catastrophically wrong.


Very True. FL35 to 9 abruptly does not appear to be a controlled descent. The previous accident involving the aircraft sounds like landing with an unbalanced fuel condition. Whether this was a pilot or mechanical failure is not clear. With the time elapsed since damage and repair from the first accident would be an unlikely factor, although possible.

rts551 - 12-11-2012 at 12:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by woody with a view
yeah, i remember seeing her name painted on many walls all over san quintin a couple of years ago. i wondered how in the hell could someone make money playing san q? anyway, sounds like Mexico lost a good one....:saint:


hey Woody..she was from Long Beach and had a huge following in the US

shari - 12-11-2012 at 12:42 PM

they hit a mountain 15 minutes after takeoff..the American pilot was 78 years old with a 20 year old copilot...what a horrible tragedy. Jeni is an icon in these parts too and EVERYONE was glued to the teli all day after the accident and it's all anyone is talking about now.

EnsenadaDr - 12-11-2012 at 12:57 PM

I think it reflects on how fragile life is and how you are here one day and gone the next, independent of wealth, social status, stardom, popularity, or modern technology. Teaches us all to live each day as it is our last.

DENNIS - 12-11-2012 at 02:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by shari
the American pilot was 78 years old with a 20 year old copilot...


Kinda young to be co-pilot on a lear jet, I would think.

EnsenadaDr - 12-11-2012 at 04:27 PM

It appears that the older pilot had logged a 19 hours shift that day and had violated safety regulations by working over the hours allowed. This article shows pictures of the pilots, and the older pilot had a pilot's license that expired in 2010. Even though a comment was made that it was unusual for a pilot to be flying at that age, there is no legal age limit for a pilot to fly unless he does not pass the physical and of course, if he has an expired license.

http://aristeguinoticias.com/1112/kiosko/fotos-de-20-y-78-an...

[Edited on 12-11-2012 by EnsenadaDr]

Seasoned Soaring

MrBillM - 12-11-2012 at 05:33 PM

I heard they got an AARP-Discount on the rental.