Federal officials said Saturday that a pilot lost control of an ill-
fated jet right before it crashed into Mexico City rush hour traffic,
killing the nation’s interior secretary and everyone else on board.

The small plane had abruptly changed direction from its southbound
path to the capital´s international airport and began heading
northward, a government investigator said.

The Learjet 45 had been fully intact and was not on fire when it
glided onto a narrow city street in the tony Lomas de Chapultepec
neighborhood, said Gilberto López Meyer, the official Transportation Secretary.  But traveling at 500 kph, the plane collided into cars, concrete posts and finally a building.

Flames shot into the sky and torched vehicles, some with their
drivers inside. Fourteen people died, including Interior Secretary
Juan Camilo Mouriño and former anti-drug prosecutor José Luis
Santiago Vasconcelos. They had been returning to the capital from
security meetings in San Luis Potosí.

The federal government has already ruled out a bomb, engine failure
and sabotage, and says the crash was likely an accident. But
residents wary of escalating drug violence around the country
continue to harbor suspicions of an attack on the aircraft.

One of the more prevalent theories the government is examining is
whether the plane was caught in turbulence by flying close behind a
large commercial jet, a top investigator into the crash - who was not
authorized to speak on the record - told The News.

The body of Alvaro Sánchez Jiménez, the final member of the flight
crew who had gone unidentified, was finally claimed by his family
late Friday, local media reported.