Friday's accident which killed Mexico's Secretary of Governmental Affairs, Francisco Blake Mora (story below), was a devastating blow for president Felipe Calderón . Not only was Blake a key minister in this administration, but the two men were close friends as well. Worse still, it was the second such cabinet secretary Calderón has lost in 36 months. A previous occupant of Blake Mora's post was killed when his plane crashed in Mexico City in November 2008.
The government helicopter in which Blake Mora and three other Calderón functionaries were traveling went down about 9:00 a.m. Friday in a remote area. All aboard were killed, including four members of the military who served as the crew and security detail for the officials. Joint public funerals for the seven victims were held yesterday, at an impressive ceremony presided over by Calderón. The grief and exhaustion were etched on his face.
Mexico has barely begun an investigation into the causes of the crash. Yesterday officials asked for help from France, where the helicopter was made, and from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB investigates aircraft accidents in the United States, whether private or commercial. Its agent team arrived in Mexico City last night (Nov. 12).
Preliminary indications suggest that the accident may turn out to be pilot error. The helicopter crashed en route from Mexico City to Cuernavaca on the country's northwest Pacific coast. It was a French built 1987 Eurocopter model, widely used around the world and with a good reputation for safety and reliability. This unit had just gone through servicing earlier in the month, and the two pilots collectively had thousands of hours of experience. Officials say that there was no explosion or fire before the crash, and that the helicopter was intact when it struck the ground, at a level or upright flying attitude. In the language of aircraft accident reconstruction, the ultimate conclusion may well be what investigators call "controlled flight into terrain." The primary working hypothesis is that the pilots, who were apparently flying visually rather than relying upon instruments, attempted to descend below heavy cloud banks to get their bearings. Cloud cover and early morning fog was heavy in the area, and the helicopter had been diverted from its normal route in an effort to avoid weather problems. The crew didn't appreciate their true altitude and simply flew into the ground, investigators believe.
But not everyone is convinced. In Michoacán state, an area which has been wracked by drug cartel violence in recent years, bellwether local elections are being held today. Voters there will select a new governor and dozens of mayors as well. A poll reported by Milenio, a major Mexican news network, revealed that 43% of respondents in Michoacán state believe Friday's crash was just an accident, but 36.3% are convinced that it was an attack, presumably by organized crime. The telephone survey was taken in a 24 hour period between November 11-12. Considering that a popular mayor of the city of La Piedad in Michoacán was assassinated on November 2, and that some candidates in today's election have reported threats and asked for protection, such suspicion is perhaps not surprising.
Since Calderón took office in December 2005, 16 helicopters transporting federal government officials have been involved in accidents, killing 48 people. In the same period 5 helicopters carrying state officials have crashed, killing 12. The president has promised an "exhaustive and transparent" investigation into the crash which killed Blake Mora.
The assassination of Ricardo Guzmán Romero: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/mexican-mayor-executed-this-evening.html;
and: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/11/updates-on-guzman-romero-murder.html.
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