Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11 incident near Mexico City, Mx, January 26, 2004
On January 26, 2004 at about 10:07 pm local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11, registered PPVTF, suffered minor damage in an incident near Mexico City. It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt; 193 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 26, 2004 · about 10:07 pm local time
- Place
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 193 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas MD-11 · all MD-11s on the register
- Registration
- PPVTF · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Varig Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: GRU Sao Paolo
- Destination: MEX Mexico City
Weather at the time
- Wind: from 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
- Observation at 3:45 pm from MMMX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 10 | |||
| Passengers | 183 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.