Near Collision at AICM: Audio Contradicts Official Narrative from Mexican President and AFAC
The official narrative from the Mexican government, which claims "timely alerts" prevented a runway collision at Mexico City's airport, is being directly contradicted by audio evidence.
The official narrative surrounding last Monday's serious incident at Mexico City International Airport (AICM) is under intense scrutiny. Statements from President Claudia Sheinbaum and the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) claiming that safety protocols worked correctly are directly contradicted by audio evidence suggesting that a potential tragedy was averted solely by the pilots' actions, without intervention from air traffic controllers.
The official account began to take shape shortly after the July 21 event, where a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737 aborted its takeoff to avoid colliding with an Aeroméxico Connect Embraer approaching the same runway, 05R. AFAC issued a statement asserting that "safety protocols were activated, which worked to prevent an accident."
This version was reinforced by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who stated at her press conference on July 23 that "fortunately, it did not escalate; all alerts were given in time to prevent any accident." However, the president also made a factual error by claiming the Delta aircraft was "parked" when it was actually in its takeoff roll.
The government's version is confronted by a key piece of evidence: a 32-minute audio recording of control tower communications, reported by El Financiero. According to the analysis of the recording, no alert or warning was issued by air traffic control (ATC) to the involved crews. The transcript reveals it was the Delta Air Lines crew that, upon visually noticing the Aeroméxico aircraft on a collision course, made the unilateral decision to abort the takeoff.
This sequence of events is consistent with the airline's statement, in which Delta expressed gratitude for "the crew's actions in maintaining situational awareness and acting swiftly."
The Controversy: Two Opposing Versions
Official Version (Government/AFAC): Control tower alerts and safety protocols functioned correctly, preventing the accident.
Evidence-Based Version (Audio): There were no alerts from the control tower. The Delta crew identified the danger and acted on their own, avoiding a collision thanks to their own skill.
What's at stake? The credibility of Mexico's aviation safety oversight and the transparency of its authorities.
The discrepancy between the official account and the available evidence puts the spotlight on Mexico's Air Navigation Services (SENEAM), the entity that manages the controllers. While the president defended AFAC, the incident points to operational failures within SENEAM, an agency that, according to industry experts, faces a shortage of technical personnel and challenges from outdated communication equipment in a saturated airspace like AICM's.
The ongoing investigation by AFAC now has a dual task: it must not only clarify the chain of errors that led to the runway incursion but also address the serious contradiction between its initial version and the facts that the audio evidence appears to demonstrate.
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