Accident occurred Sunday, December 09, 2012 in Monterrey, Mexico
Aircraft: LEARJET INC 25, registration: N345MC
Injuries: 7 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. The foreign authority was the source of this information.
On December 9, 2012, at 0333 Central Standard Time, a Learjet 25, N345MC, crashed in mountainous terrain at an elevation of about 5,600 feet above mean sea level approximately 70 miles south of Monterrey, Mexico. The flight departed General Mariano Escobedo International Airport (MMMY), Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico at 0319 and was enroute to Lic. Adolfo Lopez Mateo International Airport (MMTO), Toluca, Estado de Mexico, Mexico. The two crew members and five passengers on board were fatally injured and the aircraft was destroyed.
The Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil of Mexico (DGAC) is investigating the accident. The NTSB has designated a U.S. Accredited Representative under the provisions of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 as the State of Manufacture and Registry of the aircraft.
Inquiries regarding this incident should be directed to:
Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil
Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes
Providencia No. 807 — 6° piso
Colonia del Valle
Codigo Postal 03100
México, D.F.
Mexico
Starwood Management LLC v. United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration
The charter company and owner of the plane that crashed Sunday morning, killing Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera and six others, had one if its planes seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in September and is the subject of a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in Nevada, alleges the owner has a long criminal history that includes cocaine possession.
Authorities have begun looking into the history of the plane's owner, Starwood Management of Las Vegas, which had one of its planes seized by the DEA in McAllen, Texas in September, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to help investigate the crash of the Learjet 25, which disintegrated on impact Sunday with seven people aboard in rugged terrain in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico.
The Learjet 25, number N345MC, was en route from Monterrey to Toluco, outside Mexico City, when it was reported missing about 10 minutes after takeoff.
The cause of the accident has not been determined.
The plane was registered to Starwood Management of Las Vegas, according to FAA records, and was built in 1969.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the twin-turbojet was substantially damaged in a 2005 landing mishap at Amarillo International Airport in Texas. It hit a runway distance marker after losing directional control. There were four people aboard but no injuries. It was registered to a company in Houston, Texas, at the time.
The company is also subject of a federal lawsuit in Nevada.
QBE Insurance Corp. alleges that a Starwood aircraft was ordered seized by the DEA when it landed in McAllen, Texas, from Mexico on Sept. 12. The New York-based insurer sued in October to rescind coverage for the Hawker 700 jet.
Starwood, in a court filing, acknowledged that the DEA was involved in the seizure of the aircraft.
QBE, based in New York, said the DEA also seized a Starwood-owned Gulfstream G-1159A — insured by another company — when it landed in Tucson from Mexico in February. Starwood said in its court filing that it didn't have enough information to address the allegation.
Nevada secretary of state records list only one Starwood officer — Norma González — but QBE alleges that the company is owned and managed by Ed Nuñez, who, according to the lawsuit, is also known as Christian Esquino and has a long criminal history.
Starwood rejected the insurer's description of Nuñez's role at the company.
According to QBE's lawsuit, Esquino pleaded guilty in federal court in Orlando, Florida, in 1993 to conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.
QBE said Esquino also served two years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud involving an aircraft in Southern California in 2004. QBE said Esquino's attorney stated in court back then that his client had been under investigation by the DEA for more than a year.
Starwood said in its court filing that it didn't have enough information to address either the Florida or Southern California case against Esquino.
George Crow, an attorney for Starwood, did not immediately respond to phone and email messages left after business hours Monday by the Associated Press.
Company in jet crash that killed Mexican-American superstar Jenni Rivera has ties to alleged Gaddafi escape plot
A jet that crashed in Mexico, killing singing superstar Jenni Rivera, is owned by a company under scrutiny over its alleged links to a businessman convicted of falsifying aircraft maintenance records and an alleged plot to smuggle Saadi Gaddafi out of Libya.
The Learjet 25 that went down shortly after taking off from Monterrey on Sunday afternoon was registered to Starwood Management, a Las Vegas company that has been battling the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in court over the seizure of one of its planes.
Starwood was also the company that flew Canadian Cynthia Vanier and her security entourage to Libya during last year’s conflict. Ms. Vanier was later arrested for allegedly conspiring to bring dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s son Saadi to Mexico. She has denied the allegation.
The death of Ms. Rivera, a Mexican-American performer who sold 15 million albums and was recently named Female Artist of the Year by the Billboard Mexican Music Awards, has already brought renewed attention to Starwood and its ties to businessman Christian Esquino.
Starwood is operated by Mr. Esquino’s sister-in-law Norma Gonzalez, who lives in San Diego. But an aviation insurance company is currently arguing in court that Starwood is actually run by Mr. Esquino, who has a history of fraud involving aircraft.
While living in San Diego, Mr. Esquino served two years in a California prison for selling planes with doctored maintenance logs. Court records show the DEA suspected he was tied to the Tijuana drug cartel but he denied that and was never charged with smuggling.
After serving his sentence, he was deported to Mexico and formed a new aviation company. In 2011, he supplied the jet that flew Ms. Vanier on a fact-finding mission to Libya that was financed by Montreal engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin.
Mr. Esquino later became a key Mexican prosecution witness against Ms. Vanier and her co-accused, Gabby Cueto, a San Diego realtor. But Ms. Cueto said in a telephone interview Monday his testimony should not be taken seriously. “We have to prove to the judge that this guy is a pathological liar,” Ms. Cueto said from the Mexican prison where she and Ms. Vanier are being held.
http://news.nationalpost.com
Washington - The NTSB is dispatching investigators to assist the government of Mexico in its investigation of the crash of a Learjet LJ25.
On December 9, 2012 at about 3:30 a.m. local time, the airplane crashed about 70 miles south of Monterrey, Mexico, due to unknown circumstances while en route to Mexico City, Mexico. All 7 persons on board were fatally injured including Latin singer Jenni Rivera.
NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman has designated David Helson as the traveling U.S. Accredited Representative. Mr. Helson will be assisted from NTSB headquarters by investigative staff specializing in airplane airworthiness and flight crew operations as well as advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Learjet.
The investigation is being conducted by the Mexican Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil (DGAC) which will release all information. Contact information can be found at www.sct.gob.mx.
NTSB Media Contact:
Office of Public Affairs
490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Washington, DC 20594
(202) 314-6100
Terry Williams
terry.williams@ntsb.gov
Jenni Rivera, Mexican music star, confirmed dead
A California driver's license bearing the name of Jenni Rivera sits on the ground at the site where a plane allegedly carrying Rivera crashed near Iturbide, Mexico Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. The wreckage of a the small plane believed to be carrying Jenni Rivera, the U.S-born singer whose soulful voice and unfettered discussion of a series of personal travails made her a Mexican-American superstar, was found in northern Mexico on Sunday. Authorities said there were no survivors.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 345MC Make/Model: LJ25 Description: LEARJET 25
Date: 12/09/2012 Time: 0630
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO A MOUNTAINOUS AREA, THE 7 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, 61 MILES FROM MONTEREY, MEXICO
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 7
# Crew: 7 Fat: 7 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: DALLAS, TX (SW05) Entry date: 12/10/2012
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/N345MC
Associated Press
Jenni Rivera, the California-born singer who rose through personal adversity to become a superstar adored by millions in a male-dominated genre of Mexican-American music, was confirmed dead in a plane crash in northern Mexico, the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed Monday.
Rivera, 43, began her career working in the office of her father's small Mexican music label in Long Beach, California. Gifted with a powerful, soulful voice, she recorded her first album, "Chacalosa," in 1995. It was a hit, and she followed it with two other independent albums, one a tribute to slain Mexican-American singer Selena that helped expand her following.
By the end of the 90s, she won a major-label contract, and built a loyal following on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border.
A mother of five children and grandmother of two, the woman known as the "Diva de la Banda" was known for frank talk about her struggles to give a good life to her children despite a series of setbacks.
She was recently divorced from her third husband, was once detained at a Mexico City airport with tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and she publicly apologized after her brother assaulted a drunken fan who verbally attacked her in 2011.
Her openness about her personal troubles endeared her to millions in the U.S. and Mexico.
"I am the same as the public, as my fans," she told The Associated Press in an interview last March.
Rivera had been widely presumed dead since the wreckage of her plane, also carrying six friends and colleagues, was found Sunday.
The NTSB is sending a team to assist Mexican authorities with the investigation. NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway says Mexican aviation authorities had confirmed Rivera's death to the NTSB.
Her parents were Mexicans who had migrated to the United States. Two of her five brothers, Lupillo and Juan Rivera, are also well-known singers of grupero music.
She studied business administration and formally debuted on the music scene in 1995 with the release of her album "Chacalosa". Due to its success, she recorded two more independent albums, "We Are Rivera" and "Farewell to Selena.
At the end of the 1990s, Rivera was signed by Sony Music and released two more albums. Widespread success came when she joined Fonovisa and released her 2005 album titled "Partier, Rebellious and Daring."
She was also an actress, appearing in the indie film Filly Brown, which was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, as the incarcerated mother of Filly Brown.
She was filming the third season of "I love Jenni," which followed her as she shared special moments with her children and as she toured through Mexico and the United States. She also has the reality shows: "Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis and Raq-C" and her daughter's "Chiquis `n Control."
In 2009, she was detained at the Mexico City airport when she declared $20,000 in cash but was really carrying $52,167. She was taken into custody. She said it was an innocent mistake and authorities gave her the benefit of the doubt and released her.
In 2011, her brother Juan assaulted a drunken fan at a popular fair in Guanajuato. In the face of heavy criticism among her fans and on social networks, Rivera publicly apologized for the incident during a concert in Mexico City, telling her fans: "Thank you for accepting me as I am, with my virtues and defects."
On Saturday night, Rivera had given a concert before thousands of fans in Monterrey. After the concert she gave a press conference during which she spoke of her emotional state following her recent divorce from former Major League Baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza, who played for teams including the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I can't get caught up in the negative because that destroys you. Perhaps trying to move away from my problems and focus on the positive is the best I can do. I am a woman like any other and ugly things happen to me like any other woman," she said Saturday night. "The number of times I have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up."
Rivera had announced in October that she was divorcing Loaiza after two years of marriage.
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — The wreckage of a small plane believed to be carrying Mexican-American singing superstar Jenni Rivera was found in northern Mexico on Sunday and there are no apparent survivors, authorities said.
Transportation and Communications Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza said that "everything points toward" it being the U.S.-registered Learjet 25 carrying Rivera and six other people from Monterrey en route to Toluca, Mexico. The plane had gone missing after takeoff early Sunday.
"There is nothing recognizable, neither material nor human" in the wreckage," Ruiz Esparza told the Televisa network.
Authorities had not confirmed that Rivera was among the dead.
Jorge Domene, spokesman for Nuevo Leon's government, said the plane left Monterrey about 3:30 a.m. after Rivera gave a concert there and aviation authorities lost contact with the craft about 10 minutes later. It had been scheduled to arrive in Toluca, outside Mexico City, about an hour later.
Also on board the plane were her publicist, lawyer, makeup artist and the flight crew.
The 43-year-old who was born and raised in Long Beach, California, is one of the biggest stars of the Mexican regional style known as grupero music, which is influenced by the norteno, cumbia and ranchera styles.
The so-called "Diva de la Banda" was beloved by fans on both sides of the border for such songs as "De Contrabando" and "La Gran Senora."
She recently won two Billboard Mexican Music Awards: Female Artist of the Year and Banda Album of the Year for "Joyas prestadas: Banda."
The singer, businesswoman and actress appeared in the indie film Filly Brown, as the incarcerated mother of Filly Brown, and has her own reality shows including "I Love Jenni" and "Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis and Raq-C" and her daughter's "Chiquis 'n Control."
Rivera had given a concert before thousands of fans in Monterrey on Saturday night. After the concert she gave a press conference during which she spoke of her emotional state following her recent divorce from former Major League Baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza, who played for teams including the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I can't get caught up in the negative because that destroys you. Perhaps trying to move away from my problems and focus on the positive is the best I can do. I am a woman like any other and ugly things happen to me like any other woman," she said Saturday night. "The number of times I have fallen down is the number of times I have gotten up."
The mother of five children and grandmother of two had announced in October that she was divorcing Loaiza after two years of marriage. It was her third marriage.
Rivera is the sister of Mexican singer Lupillo Rivera. Patricia Chavez of Lupillo Rivera's office in the United States told The AP that "for now we don't have any information that would be useful."
Associated Press Writer Galia Garcia-Palafox contributed to this report from Mexico City.
Jenni Rivera’s record label, Universal Music has confirmed what Mexican authorities had earlier confirmed – the Learjet carrying Jenni Rivera went missing shortly after take off.
Jenni Rivera was in Monterrey, Mexico performing at The Arena and was due to be on Mexico’s ‘The Voice’ this evening. This is the reason some believe she insisted on taking off to Toluca enroute to Mexico City immediately after her concert. The Monterrey concert promoters had urged her to stay overnight, she reportedly refused.
Reports coming out of Mexico say the weather was ideal for flying at 3:15 a.m. when Rivera’s plane took off. The Starwood Charter Learjet 25 lost contact with air control some 15 minutes later. The area where the plane is believed to have lost contact is difficult to access and contains some of the highest peaks of the Sierra Madre in the state of Nuevo Leon.
Some fear that “La Diva de la Banda” is dead along with the other six passengers now identified from the flight manifest as: Arturo Rivera, Mario Macias, Jacob Llenares Gerard and Gerard N. The pilots have been identified as Miguel Perez and Alejandro Torres Four helicopters continue to search for the plane.
