History: The Story Of Los Angeles’ Cerritos Air Disaster

On August 31, 1986, a tragic midair collision occurred over Cerritos, California, involving a Piper PA-28-181 and an Aeromexico DC-9-32. The Piper entered the Los Angeles Terminal Control Area (TCA) without authorization and collided with the descending Aeromexico flight, killing all 67 people on both aircraft and 15 people on the ground.