Mexicana de Aviación passengers report a jet fuel leak on the first flight to Tulum; the airline confirmed.
The Mexican military aviation airline started its first flight to Tulum International Airport “Felipe Carrillo Puerto” with problems, as passengers reported a jet fuel leak; a fact confirmed by Amanda Selene Escamilla Alarcón, spokesperson for the airline.
In an interview with Oscar Olguín, in the José Cárdenas Informa space on Radio Formula, the spokesperson for Mexicana de Aviación said that the aircraft registered a fuel spill that was attended to and that these types of incidents are frequent on flights and he even considered it “routine”.
The first plane of the new Mexican Aviation airline that returned from Tulum, Quintana Roo, to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), located on the former military base of Santa Lucia, landed five hours late due to a fuel leak.
#Entérate De acuerdo a reportes por parte de pasajeros, personal del CREI se encuentra asistiendo al avión Boeing 737 de #MexicanaDeAviación, que cubría la ruta inaugural de la aerolínea. De acuerdo a primeras imágenes se observa una mancha y una tina para aceite en la plataforma… pic.twitter.com/XGrsmlp8ul
— EnElAire (@Enel_Aire) December 26, 2023
The Boeing 737-800 plane with registration was delayed and stayed five more hours on the track.
According to passengers’ versions, it began to be boarded until 5:15 p.m. and took off at 5:30 p.m.
“There was a little fuel that was spilled, however, the entire aircraft was worked on and inspected until we had the security to resume the flight again,” confirmed Mexicana de Aviación spokesperson Amanda Selene Escamilla Alarcón.
According to the passengers of the flight, personnel from the Rescue and Fire Fighting Corps (CREI) were mobilized on the runway to deal with a jet fuel leak.
Images were even circulated on networks showing a large liquid stain and a vat of oil on the platform, under the parked aircraft with a capacity for 174 passengers.
Two passengers who were on the flight said that the plane had malfunctions when it was already in the boarding tunnel and they could see technical personnel and firefighters approaching one of the wings. Sites specialized in aviation reported an alleged jet fuel leak.
Juan Antonio José, a specialist in the aviation sector, explained to Reforma that when an aircraft has a fuel leak, the Fire Extinguishing Service (SEI) is called, which is responsible for dealing with the emergency.
“The SEI responds to the emergency and those who determine whether the aircraft is in a position to continue flying are the airline and the command of the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC); “The one who has the last word on the flight plan that the aircraft will follow is the command.”
He added that fuel spills on aircraft can be due to various factors, such as poor fuel loading procedures.
Authorities have not reported precisely whether the problem was with the plane itself or with other equipment at the time of refueling.
In the morning, the same Mexicana de Aviación plane, a company that the federal government gave to the military to operate, left at 8:00 a.m. heading to the Tulum Airport, inaugurated unfinished by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on March 1. December.
However, that flight had to be diverted to Mérida, Yucatán, since it could not land in Tulum due to a fog bank, and from there it later took off to reach Tulum.
TYT Newsroom