How Everyone Aboard This Plane Walked Away Alive

That everyone aboard survived a plane crash in Mexico on Tuesday afternoon was news that emerged quickly; what's taking shape now is just how the 103 people managed to do so. The Aeroméxico flight went down shortly after taking off in Durango, bound for Mexico City. The BBC reports a gust of wind may have been a major contributing factor, causing the plane to plunge. The left wing scraped the ground and two engines tore off, with Reuters reporting the plane came to rest about 1,000 feet from the runway. The plane then caught fire, but most were able to exit it before that occurred. A young girl who was burned is one of two seriously injured people, with the pilot being the other. Reports on how many were injured in total range from "dozens" to 97. Passengers describe the crash to the AFP and CNN, which reports the crew was able to activate the evacuation slides.

• "The second impact was a lot stronger. This is when I jumped and hit my head against the ceiling. After the second impact, I saw flames in the cabin ahead of me."
• "When we were already aloft, up high, it felt like the plane was going to level out but just then it plunged to the ground. I think we fell back on the runway because it was a hard surface, then we skidded on the ground until it stopped. I undid my seatbelt and saw flames, and realized we had to jump. There was a hole right next to us where the plane had broken up. I told my girl, 'We have to jump over here', and we jumped."

(More plane crash stories.)