Notes: Aeromexico flight 498 left Tijuana, Mexico on the morning of August 31, 1986 bound for Los Angeles. 58 passengers and six crew members were on board the DC-9 as it made it's approach to LAX. Meanwhile, a Piper Archer carrying a family of three had departed Torrance Municipal Airport bound for Big Bear.

It was a clear day in the Los Angeles basin with visibility reported at 15 miles. The Archer was on an easterly climb while 498 was descending to the northwest. At an approximate altitude of 6,500ft, the two aircraft collided, the horizontal stabilizer of the DC-9 slicing through the cockpit of the Archer. The DC-9 rolled onto it's back and crashed inverted into a residential area, while the Archer crashed in a school yard about a quarter of a mile away. All aboard both planes were killed in the accident along with 15 people on the ground. 18 houses were destroyed in the impact.