In the last few moments, an Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX operating AC990 between Mexico City and Toronto has declared an emergency.
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AC990 is being operated by C-GMEX, one of the airline’s Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.
Updates: Air Canada Flight Mexico City-Toronto Declares Emergency…
This is a developing story. Updates below.
UPDATE #1 @ 2019 UK time – The nearest diversion airport for Air Canada flight AC990 between Mexico City & Toronto is General Francisco Javier Mina International Airport.
UPDATE #2 @ 2020 UK time – C-GMEX, the 737 MAX 8 operating this flight, is currently at around 8,200 feet and looks to have made a u-turn heading back in the direction of it’s origin airfield.
UPDATE #3 @ 2023 UK time – ADS-B coverage around this part of Mexico is a bit spotty, so will provide updates when we can on this.
UPDATE #4 @ 2024 UK time – As per Planespotters, C-GMEX is a 2.2 year old airframe that was delivered to the airline in September 2021.
UPDATE #5 @ 2026 UK time – AC990 is performing a series of holds over General Francisco Javier Mina International Airport at 8,200 feet. Still unclear what the nature of the emergency is at present.
UPDATE #6 @ 2034 UK time – AC990 continues to hold over the Tampico area at 8,200 feet. Unclear whether they need to burn fuel or whether they are still working the issue out.
UPDATE #7 @ 2041 UK time – The reasoning behind the aircraft not continuing on to Toronto is still unclear. Still no confirmation on the flight status page for Air Canada.
UPDATE #8 @ 2051 UK time – AC990 is still holding, and has been in the air for just over an hour at the time of writing.
UPDATE #9 @ 2054 UK time – AC990 appears to be climbing whilst in the hold. Has gone from 8,200 to 10,000 feet in two minutes.
UPDATE #10 @ 2100 UK time – AC990 has appeared to have exited the hold and is tracking north of Tampico at 10,200 feet currently.
UPDATE #11 @ 2103 UK time – It is quite unclear which airport Air Canada flight AC990 from Mexico City to Toronto will be diverting to. The only options currently are Tampico or Ciudad Victoria International Airport.
UPDATE #12 @ 2106 UK time – AC990 is getting closer to the border between Mexico and the United States, so there is the potential that it will divert to an American airfield potentially.
UPDATE #13 @ 2109 UK time – CONFIRMED! AC990 will be diverting to Houston in the United States, so they are going to limp the aircraft over there instead.
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