A humanitarian medical flight operated by the Mexican Navy met with tragedy on Monday when it crashed into the waters near Galveston, Texas, under dense fog conditions, resulting in five fatalities and one individual reported missing. The aircraft was conducting a critical mission for the Michou y Mau Foundation, transporting a child with severe burns for specialized medical treatment at the time of the incident.
According to data from Flight Radar, the last known position of the aircraft was recorded at 15:01 local time over Galveston Bay, in close proximity to Scholes International Airport. The Mexican Secretariat of the Navy confirmed that two survivors were rescued from the wreckage, while search operations for the missing person continue in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Eyewitness accounts and video footage obtained by the Associated Press depict a harrowing rescue scene. Local yacht captain Sky Decker Jr., who assisted first responders, described discovering a severely injured woman trapped in the wreckage with merely three inches of airspace for breathing amid toxic jet fuel fumes. ‘She was really fighting for her life,’ Decker recounted, highlighting the perilous conditions faced by both victims and rescuers.
The Michou y Mau Foundation, renowned for providing medical care to Mexican children suffering from severe burns, issued an official statement on social media platform X expressing their deepest condolences to the families affected by this devastating tragedy. The organization has temporarily suspended medical transport operations pending preliminary investigation results.
Aviation safety authorities from both Mexico and the United States have initiated a collaborative investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, with particular focus on the challenging meteorological conditions that characterized the flight path. The incident represents one of the deadliest aviation accidents involving cross-border medical missions in recent years.