It began with a strong burst of wind and pounding hail that pummelled the Aeromexico jetliner minutes after takeoff in northern Mexico, then sent it smashing belly-down onto a field near the runway.
Frightened passengers scrambled to flee as flames and black smoke erupted around them. Miraculously, all 103 on board survived the crash Tuesday.
On Wednesday, passengers described the terrifying sequence of events.
"It's not every day you kind of fall from the sky and live to tell about it," said Alberto Herrera, a 35-year-old webpage engineer from Chicago.
Jose Luis Corral, a 52-year-old business owner from Portland, Oregon said: "It's terrifying to see all the people screaming." Corral was one of four people who helped the plane's badly injured pilot escape the blaze.
The pilot suffered a serious neck injury and remains hospitalised, along with 48 others injured in the crash.
Herrera said the skies were sunny as passengers boarded the flight from Durango to Mexico City on Tuesday afternoon.
"When we were sitting on the plane there was a little drizzle, but nothing to worry about," Herrera said.
That all changed, seemingly in an instant, he said.
Plane crash in Mexico. Source: La Jornada
"You start gaining speed and as soon as you start taking off all of the sudden the plane starts struggling and it's getting hit with hail.
"All of a sudden the plane starts rocking and it starts seriously, seriously moving around and then hitting the ground," he said. "We skidded and hit a second time and you saw the flames. ...You're like 'This might be bad."'
By instinct, Herrera braced for impact and yelled for others to do the same.
Officials said the impact ripped both engines off the Embraer 190 jetliner, and fires immediately broke out in the wings.
With smoke filling the cabin, the exits over the wings were blocked by fire. Herrera helped as many people down as he could. The emergency slide had deployed but the fuselage was at an odd angle, so it was unusable and people had to jump to the ground.
Passengers walked back across the muddy field to the end of runway and waited there for emergency vehicles.
Durango state Governor Jose Aispuro said all 99 passengers and four crew members made it off the plane, though the pilot was severely injured.
Others have suffered burns, some over a quarter of their bodies, said Durango state Health Ministry spokesman Fernando Ros.
Aispuro said it was too soon to speculate on the cause of the crash. Mechanical failure and human error could be factors, but certainly the weather was not favourable.
Mexico's Transport Department said the US National Transportation Safety Board was sending two investigators to assist in the investigation, and the plane's manufacturer will also participate.
The department did not immediately answer questions about whether the airport was equipped with a Low Level Wind Shear Alert System that can detect weather conditions like severe down drafts or microbursts.
