Editing Aeroméxico (section)

===1980s===
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The early 1980s were marked by expansion. A new color scheme was introduced (orange paint and silver),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Enderes |first=Gunter |title=Airline liveries |date=1999 |publisher=Ian Allan Publishing |edition=4th |location=Shepperton, Surrey, England, United Kingdom}}</ref> two DC-10-15s and a DC-10-30 were added in 1981 and in 1984. Aeroméxico, one of the launch customers of the [[McDonnell Douglas MD-80|McDonnell Douglas MD-82]] (an elongated version of the DC-9), received its first two in late 1981. Between 1980 and 1981, eight more DC-9-32 aircraft were added.
On 31 August 1986, the company suffered its only fatal accident outside Mexico when [[Aeroméxico Flight 498]], a Douglas DC-9, approaching [[Los Angeles International Airport]] was struck by a [[light aircraft]]. Both aircraft then fell to earth in the Los Angeles suburb of [[Cerritos, California]]. All 64 passengers and crew on board the DC-9-32 were killed, as were the three people in the light aircraft and 15 people on the ground. After three years and a long trial, the aircraft's crew and the airline were found not to blame. This was because the pilot of the Piper had strayed into an air traffic control zone reserved for commercial flights. That same year, the airline acquired the charter carrier GATSA and used it for charter operations until December.
In April 1988, the state-owned company was declared bankrupt and grounded for three months because of lack of organization, a fleet with an average of 20 years without a renovation plan and a depredating administration by the Mexican Government. In August, a privatization program was underway. This involved retiring the eight Douglas DC-8s along with the remaining ten DC-9-15 aircraft. After a strike and bankruptcy between April and May 1988, a privatization process started and included a new corporate name (Aerovias de Mexico SA de CV). The airline restarted operations with some of its predecessor's assets, including the headquarters building, maintenance hangar, some aircraft, and some former Aeronaves de Mexico employees.