August 31 Marks 40 Years Since Cerritos Air Disaster

Details

The community is invited to pay their respects to those impacted by the tragic events of August 31, 1986, when two planes collided and crash-landed in Cerritos. The incident resulted in the death of 64 people aboard an Aeromexico flight, three people on a smaller aircraft, and 15 people on the ground.  

An informal gathering will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 31, inside the Cerritos Sculpture Garden.

The Air Disaster Memorial Sculpture, inside the Cerritos Sculpture Garden, was dedicated in 2006 in memory of those who perished, and to provide comfort and serenity to those who lost loved ones in the tragedy. The sculpture features three different materials including white and dark gray marbles and black granite, sculpted into two free-form shapes in the likeness of abstracted wings, which are symbolic of flying, weightlessness, and release.

The Cerritos Sculpture Garden is located in the Cerritos Civic Center at the northwest corner of Bloomfield Avenue and 183rd Street. 

For More Information

To learn more about the Cerritos Air Disaster and the memorial sculpture, visit the Cerritos Library's history page and Public Artwork page.