A sixth person has been found dead after a Mexican Navy plane carrying medical patients crashed into the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas on Monday afternoon, leaving only two survivors and killing a 2-year-old child, the Mexican Navy said.The body of a final unaccounted-for victim was found Tuesday as search-and-rescue teams scoured the foggy bay waters for a second day, the agency said in a statement.Eight people were on board the plane – four Naval crew members and four civilians, the Mexican Navy confirmed. The plane had been transporting burn patients, Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen told KPRC.Two people who were recovered alive on Monday are in stable condition, the Mexican Navy said. One woman was pulled from the wreckage by a local man who waded into the water before first responders arrived, driven by instinct and his own experience as a plane crash survivor.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum offered her condolences to the families of the passengers and sailors onboard the plane at a news conference Tuesday.Sheinbaum said her government will investigate the cause of the crash, noting, “There were about 10 minutes during which communication with the aircraft was lost.”Officials had assumed the plane had landed, she said. It was only later that her government learned of the accident.“Until the black box is recovered and analyzed, it will not be possible to know the cause of the crash,” Sheinbaum said.The incident holds striking similarities to another plane crash earlier this year, in which an air ambulance carrying six Mexican nationals — including a child who came to the U.S. for critical medical treatment — careened into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff. The fiery crash left no survivors and engulfed homes and vehicles, killing a couple whose car went up in flames.Childhood crash survivor pulls a woman from the wreckageSky Decker, a local yacht captain and childhood plane crash survivor, told CNN he jumped in to rescue a woman trapped in the debris before divers had arrived on scene.“Everyone was just waiting for divers to arrive. And I thought if there’s a woman alive in that plane, she’s not going to be alive for long,” he told CNN. “It was critical to get her out of there.”Inside the wreckage, Decker found a woman who was surviving by breathing in a pocket of air just inches from the roof of the plane.“It was hard to believe that there could (be) any possibility that anybody could be alive in that wreckage,” Decker said on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”When he saw her inside, he said, “it was just unbelievable.”He went back through the debris and pulled out the body of a man who was already dead, he said.Decker, whose mother was Mexican, said he was initially the only person at the scene who could speak Spanish and console the surviving woman.Decker said he was tormented by dreams about plane crashes for years after he survived the crash of his father’s plane when he was 10 years old. He said the traumatic accident had a “huge impact” on him.“Oddly, it almost seems like it fits in with my life in some strange way,” he said of the crash.The woman he rescued is “doing much better,” Decker said. “I hope to meet with her at some point. I hope I can console her in some way.”The aircraft, a small twin turbo plane, took off from Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and was headed for Galveston Scholes International Airport, which lies about 50 miles southeast of Houston, according to data from FlightRadar24.Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transports to children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s hospital in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.A statement from Mexico’s Navy shared on X said the plane had an “incident” during its approach to Galveston, but did not elaborate.NTSB launches an investigationThe National Transportation Safety Board has also opened an investigation into the crash.In a statement shared with CNN Tuesday, a spokesperson for the agency said the first step will be to recover the plane from Galveston Bay, “which could take a week or more to complete.”The investigation will focus on three areas, the agency said — the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.Throughout the investigation, the agency will gather information, including recordings of any air traffic control communications, maintenance records and flight tracking data.Investigators will issue a preliminary report into their findings within 30 days of the incident, the spokesperson said.CNN also reached out to the FAA, which referred requests for comment to the US Coast Guard. In a statement following the crash, the Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston said the cause of the crash is under investigation.Foggy island coastline had ‘zero visibility,’ witness saysBilly Howell, who works at Galveston Bait and Tackle, told KTRK there was “literally zero visibility” at the time of the crash, adding it is not uncommon near the island, where foggy conditions can roll in within minutes.“As the sea fog goes and the wind blows and changes directions, the fog does get a lot more dense,” Howell said.When the Coast Guard received a report of the crash around 3:17 p.m., a blanket of fog and mist had reduced visibility to just a quarter mile near Galveston and Scholes Field, NOAA data shows.“It looked like it would be impossible for anybody to survive. The plane was almost completely underwater,” Decker told CNN.Wildly fluctuating fog conditions may also have complicated the search for the remaining person.Visibility remained very low Monday night as Coast Guard vessels, a dive team, crime scene unit, drones and police patrols scoured the area. During the search Tuesday, visibility ranged widely from about a quarter mile to up to 10 miles.Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are on scene assisting the investigation, the Texas Department of Safety said in a post on X.Mexico’s Navy said in a post on social media it extends “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.” It said it is coordinating with the Mexican Consulate in Houston. CNN has reached out for more information.The Michou and Mau Foundation also said in a post on X, “We express our deepest solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honoring their memory and reaffirming our commitment to providing humane, sensitive, and dignified care to children with burns.”
GALVESTON, Texas —
A sixth person has been found dead after a Mexican Navy plane carrying medical patients crashed into the waters of Galveston Bay in Texas on Monday afternoon, leaving only two survivors and killing a 2-year-old child, the Mexican Navy said.
The body of a final unaccounted-for victim was found Tuesday as search-and-rescue teams scoured the foggy bay waters for a second day, the agency said in a statement.
Eight people were on board the plane – four Naval crew members and four civilians, the Mexican Navy confirmed. The plane had been transporting burn patients, Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen told KPRC.
Two people who were recovered alive on Monday are in stable condition, the Mexican Navy said. One woman was pulled from the wreckage by a local man who waded into the water before first responders arrived, driven by instinct and his own experience as a plane crash survivor.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum offered her condolences to the families of the passengers and sailors onboard the plane at a news conference Tuesday.
Sheinbaum said her government will investigate the cause of the crash, noting, “There were about 10 minutes during which communication with the aircraft was lost.”
Officials had assumed the plane had landed, she said. It was only later that her government learned of the accident.
“Until the black box is recovered and analyzed, it will not be possible to know the cause of the crash,” Sheinbaum said.
The incident holds striking similarities to another plane crash earlier this year, in which an air ambulance carrying six Mexican nationals — including a child who came to the U.S. for critical medical treatment — careened into a Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff. The fiery crash left no survivors and engulfed homes and vehicles, killing a couple whose car went up in flames.
Childhood crash survivor pulls a woman from the wreckage
Sky Decker, a local yacht captain and childhood plane crash survivor, told CNN he jumped in to rescue a woman trapped in the debris before divers had arrived on scene.
“Everyone was just waiting for divers to arrive. And I thought if there’s a woman alive in that plane, she’s not going to be alive for long,” he told CNN. “It was critical to get her out of there.”
Inside the wreckage, Decker found a woman who was surviving by breathing in a pocket of air just inches from the roof of the plane.
“It was hard to believe that there could (be) any possibility that anybody could be alive in that wreckage,” Decker said on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
When he saw her inside, he said, “it was just unbelievable.”
He went back through the debris and pulled out the body of a man who was already dead, he said.
Decker, whose mother was Mexican, said he was initially the only person at the scene who could speak Spanish and console the surviving woman.
Decker said he was tormented by dreams about plane crashes for years after he survived the crash of his father’s plane when he was 10 years old. He said the traumatic accident had a “huge impact” on him.
“Oddly, it almost seems like it fits in with my life in some strange way,” he said of the crash.
The woman he rescued is “doing much better,” Decker said. “I hope to meet with her at some point. I hope I can console her in some way.”
The aircraft, a small twin turbo plane, took off from Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and was headed for Galveston Scholes International Airport, which lies about 50 miles southeast of Houston, according to data from FlightRadar24.
Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transports to children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s hospital in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.
A statement from Mexico’s Navy shared on X said the plane had an “incident” during its approach to Galveston, but did not elaborate.
NTSB launches an investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board has also opened an investigation into the crash.
In a statement shared with CNN Tuesday, a spokesperson for the agency said the first step will be to recover the plane from Galveston Bay, “which could take a week or more to complete.”
The investigation will focus on three areas, the agency said — the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.
Throughout the investigation, the agency will gather information, including recordings of any air traffic control communications, maintenance records and flight tracking data.
Investigators will issue a preliminary report into their findings within 30 days of the incident, the spokesperson said.
CNN also reached out to the FAA, which referred requests for comment to the US Coast Guard. In a statement following the crash, the Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston said the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Foggy island coastline had ‘zero visibility,’ witness says
Billy Howell, who works at Galveston Bait and Tackle, told KTRK there was “literally zero visibility” at the time of the crash, adding it is not uncommon near the island, where foggy conditions can roll in within minutes.
“As the sea fog goes and the wind blows and changes directions, the fog does get a lot more dense,” Howell said.
When the Coast Guard received a report of the crash around 3:17 p.m., a blanket of fog and mist had reduced visibility to just a quarter mile near Galveston and Scholes Field, NOAA data shows.
“It looked like it would be impossible for anybody to survive. The plane was almost completely underwater,” Decker told CNN.
Wildly fluctuating fog conditions may also have complicated the search for the remaining person.
Visibility remained very low Monday night as Coast Guard vessels, a dive team, crime scene unit, drones and police patrols scoured the area. During the search Tuesday, visibility ranged widely from about a quarter mile to up to 10 miles.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are on scene assisting the investigation, the Texas Department of Safety said in a post on X.
Mexico’s Navy said in a post on social media it extends “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.” It said it is coordinating with the Mexican Consulate in Houston. CNN has reached out for more information.
The Michou and Mau Foundation also said in a post on X, “We express our deepest solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honoring their memory and reaffirming our commitment to providing humane, sensitive, and dignified care to children with burns.”