Jenni Rivera plane crash caused by technical problems and possible pilot error

Technical problems and possible pilot error are responsible for the plane crash that killed Jenni Rivera last year, Mexican authorities said.

Jenni Rivera, 43, perished along with four members of her entourage and two pilots when the Learjet she was travelling in crashed in Mexico on December 9, 2012.

Officials at Mexico’s General Civil Aviation Administration have now published a report into what caused the accident, just days before the first anniversary of the tragedy.

A “series of factors” has been pinpointed as possible causes, including the age of the plane, which was more than 40-years old.

The aircraft was too badly damaged for conclusive findings, according to the report.

The investigation also mentioned the age of the pilots – one was 78, the other just 21 – as possible risk factors, and revealed the plane suffered a “sudden and abrupt lack of control” which caused a sheer vertical drop. This could have been caused by mechanical failure, according to the findings.

The report ruled out weather conditions or a fire/explosion onboard the plane as possible factors in the crash that killed Jenni Rivera.