In the annals of aviation mysteries, one incident stands out for its sheer terror and unexplained nature. In 1990, an Air Mexico flight returning from Nassau, Bahamas experienced a series of bewildering events that would haunt the crew for years to come. What began as a routine empty return flight quickly transformed into a nightmare scenario when a bright white light appeared outside the cockpit, followed by something even more disturbing—entities observed moving across the wing and peering into the aircraft windows.

The encounter lasted approximately ninety minutes, during which flight instruments malfunctioned, watches stopped, and the usual sound of turbines became inaudible. Flight attendant Bertha Tallo, who first spotted one of the thin, slant-eyed creatures outside a passenger window, later broke the crew's pact of silence by sharing her experience with UFO researcher Luis Ramirez Reyes. The crew had originally agreed never to speak of the incident for fear of losing their jobs, but the extraordinary nature of what they witnessed that night over the Atlantic Ocean proved too significant to remain hidden forever.

Key Takeaways

A 1990 Air Mexico flight encountered unexplained entities outside the aircraft while flying over the Atlantic Ocean at approximately 3:00 AM.
During the incident, flight instruments malfunctioned, watches stopped, and aircraft turbine sounds disappeared until the phenomena suddenly ended.
The flight crew witnessed strange beings with slanted eyes and thin bodies walking on the aircraft wing and peering into the cockpit windows.

Terrifying Encounter on Air Mexico Flight

In 1990, an Air Mexico crew experienced something unexplainable while flying over the Atlantic Ocean. After dropping off passengers in Nassau, Bahamas, the crew was returning to Mexico City with only staff members aboard. What began as a routine return flight turned into something that would haunt them for years to come. The incident was so disturbing that crew members initially agreed never to speak of it, fearing they would lose their jobs. Eventually, a flight attendant broke her silence and shared her experience with Mexican UFO researcher Luis Ramirez Reyes.

Mysterious Faces Outside the Cockpit

Around 3:00 AM, approximately an hour and fifteen minutes after departing Nassau, the pilot and first officer noticed an extremely bright white light appearing outside the cockpit. Initially thinking it was a malfunction with flight instruments, they began checking their controls. When the light persisted, they realized something truly unusual was happening.

The pilots soon made a terrifying discovery: two strange entities appeared outside the cockpit windows, peering in at them. These faces seemed to be observing the crew, creating a scene reminiscent of a horror film. The captain and first officer reported immediate difficulties with the aircraft's instruments, which began malfunctioning simultaneously with these appearances.

The navigation systems went haywire, making it impossible to determine their exact location. For approximately ninety minutes, the flight crew struggled with failing instruments while being observed by these unknown entities. The turbine sounds reportedly ceased during this period, and all watches on board stopped functioning.

Flight Attendant Bertha's Otherworldly Encounter

Flight attendant Bertha, unable to sleep during the late-night flight, had decided to prepare coffee for the pilots. While walking through the cabin past the wing section, she noticed something unusual moving outside the aircraft. Initially dismissing it as fatigue-induced imagination, she continued to the galley.

Upon returning to the cockpit with coffee, she found the pilots visibly disturbed by the strange light following their aircraft. Later, passing the wing section again, Bertha decided to investigate:

What Bertha Observed:

A face looking directly at her from outside the window
The entity had slanted, shiny eyes
Its body appeared unnaturally thin
It seemed able to move across the wing without being affected by high-altitude winds

Terrified, Bertha rushed back to inform the pilots. Though initially skeptical, another crew member accompanied her to verify her claims. They witnessed not just one, but three entities moving across the wing toward its tip.

When the strange light finally vanished, the entities disappeared simultaneously. The aircraft instruments returned to normal operation, and the watches began working again. The plane landed safely at Benito Juárez Airport in Mexico City, though crew members noted a 3-5 minute discrepancy in their watches despite feeling as though they had experienced an hour-long encounter.

Bertha later theorized that the Air Mexico flight had been encased in some kind of magnetic field that affected the instruments and created a sound vacuum. She also wondered if more had occurred that night than they could remember, noting the time discrepancy that couldn't be explained.

Flight Details and Unusual Occurrences

Flight Summary and Crew Responses

In 1990, an Air Mexico aircraft experienced a series of extraordinary events while returning from Nassau, Bahamas to Mexico City. The flight was operating with only crew members aboard after dropping off passengers in the Bahamas. Due to rising fuel costs during the Gulf crisis, these empty return flights were becoming increasingly rare. Most flight attendants took advantage of the opportunity to rest during the overnight journey, which was scheduled to arrive in Mexico City around 5:00 AM. Flight records indicate the plane was a Boeing 727, and the incident occurred approximately one hour and fifteen minutes after departing Nassau, positioning the aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean.

First Appearance of the Unexplained Light

At approximately 3:00 AM, while the aircraft was cruising at altitude, an extremely bright white light suddenly appeared outside the cockpit. This unexpected phenomenon immediately caught the attention of both pilots and flight attendant Bertha, who was visiting the cockpit at that time. The flight crew initially suspected an instrument malfunction might be causing the unusual illumination and began checking their equipment. Finding no obvious explanation, Bertha decided to prepare coffee for herself and the pilots, leaving the cockpit to walk toward the rear kitchen as the flight crew continued investigating.

Bertha's Wing Observation and Following Incidents

While walking through the cabin past the right wing section, Bertha noticed unusual movement on the wing. Initially dismissing it as fatigue-induced imagination, she continued to the kitchen and prepared coffee. Upon returning to the cockpit, she found both pilots noticeably anxious as the mysterious light had remained and appeared to be following the aircraft.

During her next trip through the cabin, Bertha stopped to look more carefully out the window near the wing. What she saw left her terrified - a face was looking back at her from outside the aircraft. She immediately:

Ran to the cockpit to report what she'd seen
Returned with another crew member to verify the sighting
Observed what appeared to be a thin figure with slanted, shiny eyes walking across the wing

The situation escalated when the verifying crew member exclaimed there were actually three entities visible outside. Simultaneously, in the cockpit, the pilots reported:

Two figures appeared outside the windscreen
Flight instruments began malfunctioning
Navigation systems became unreliable
Watch timepieces stopped functioning
The sound of the turbines became inaudible

This extraordinary situation persisted for approximately 90 minutes before abruptly ending when the bright light disappeared along with the entities. At that moment, all instruments returned to normal function, allowing the crew to safely land at Benito Juárez Airport in Mexico City. The crew noted a 3-5 minute discrepancy in their watches following the incident.

Following their landing, all crew members reportedly agreed to maintain silence about the experience, fearing potential dismissal from their airline positions for reporting such an unusual occurrence.

Aerial Enigma and Instrument Failure

Flight Deck Complications

The flight crew faced unexplainable difficulties with their instrumentation shortly after the bright light appeared outside their aircraft. Both the captain and first officer struggled to maintain control as multiple flight instruments began malfunctioning simultaneously. Navigation systems provided inconsistent readings, making it impossible to verify their exact position over the Atlantic.

The pilots repeatedly checked their panels, attempting to diagnose the source of the failures. Nothing in their training had prepared them for this situation. All onboard timepieces mysteriously stopped functioning during the incident, only to resume normal operation after the light disappeared.

Most concerning was the complete silence that enveloped the aircraft. The normal sound of the turbine engines vanished entirely during the encounter, creating an eerie quiet throughout the cabin and cockpit. When the phenomenon ended, both the engine noise and timekeeping devices returned to normal function, though watches showed a discrepancy of 3-5 minutes.

Unusual Visitors Outside the Aircraft

The flight attendant and crew witnessed several unidentified entities outside the aircraft at cruising altitude. The first sighting occurred when a flight attendant noticed movement across the wing while walking through the cabin. Initially dismissing it as fatigue-induced imagination, she later returned to the same window and was shocked to see a face staring back at her from outside the aircraft.

When a second crew member joined to verify the sighting, they observed the thin-bodied figure walking across the wing toward its tip. The entity had distinctive slanted, shiny eyes. The situation escalated when they realized multiple beings were present, with the second crew member exclaiming, "There are three!"

Most disturbingly, two of these entities appeared directly outside the cockpit windows, peering in at the pilots while they struggled with the malfunctioning instruments. These beings remained visible for approximately ninety minutes before vanishing simultaneously with the mysterious light that had been following the aircraft.

The crew theorized that the plane had been temporarily enclosed in some type of magnetic field that disrupted their instruments and created the sound vacuum they experienced during the encounter.

Ending the Sky Encounter

How the Incident Concluded

The terrifying experience aboard the Air Mexico flight reached its conclusion as mysteriously as it began. After approximately ninety minutes of bizarre occurrences, the bright light that had illuminated the cockpit suddenly vanished. Simultaneously, the three entities that had been observed outside the aircraft disappeared from view.

The flight crew noticed several strange phenomena during this transition. All watches aboard the plane had stopped during the encounter but spontaneously resumed operation after the light disappeared. The sound of the aircraft's turbines, which had gone silent during the event, suddenly returned to normal.

When the mysterious presence departed, the aircraft's instruments also returned to normal functioning. This allowed the pilots to regain full control of the plane and accurately determine their location. Despite the traumatic experience, the crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Benito Juárez airport in Mexico City.

Agreement After Landing and Theories

Upon landing safely, the entire crew made a solemn agreement to never discuss the incident with anyone. This pact was motivated by serious professional concerns, as discussing such supernatural encounters was strictly prohibited by their employer and could result in immediate termination of employment.

The flight attendant Bertha later suggested several theories about what they had experienced:

Magnetic field theory: She believed the aircraft had been encased in some form of magnetic field that:
- Disrupted the plane's instruments
- Created a vacuum that blocked engine sounds
- Was directly connected to the bright light and creatures
Time anomaly: The crew noticed a 3-5 minute discrepancy between their watches, though the experience felt much longer to them.
Memory interference: Bertha speculated that more events might have occurred during the flight that were somehow erased from their memories, including the possibility that the entities had actually entered the aircraft.

Some crew members found the experience so disturbing they simply refused to acknowledge what had happened, preferring to suppress the memory rather than confront the inexplicable nature of their encounter thousands of feet above the Atlantic.

Theories and Reflections

Possible Explanations for the Strange Encounter

The 1990 Air Mexico incident presents several perplexing elements that defy conventional explanation. One theory suggests the aircraft encountered a form of electromagnetic disturbance, evidenced by the malfunctioning instruments and stopped watches. This electromagnetic field may have created conditions where normal physics didn't apply, allowing entities to survive in the impossible environment of high-altitude flight.

Another consideration is that the crew experienced a collective hallucination triggered by fatigue, high altitude, or unusual atmospheric conditions. However, this theory weakens when considering the multiple independent witnesses and the specific, consistent details reported by different crew members.

Some researchers have proposed that the aircraft entered a temporary dimensional anomaly or "time slip." This might explain the time discrepancy noted by the crew, where what felt like an hour only registered as 3-5 minutes on their watches after the event concluded.

Theory Supporting Evidence Challenges Electromagnetic encounter Instrument failure, stopped watches Doesn't explain humanoid entities Collective hallucination Crew fatigue, stress Multiple consistent witness accounts Dimensional anomaly Time discrepancy, physics-defying entities Lack of scientific framework Extraterrestrial contact Structured event, non-human entities No physical evidence collected

Bertha Tallow's Suspicions

Flight attendant Bertha Tallow developed several theories about what truly happened during those terrifying moments over the Atlantic. She firmly believed the aircraft had been enveloped in some type of magnetic field generated by the mysterious bright light. This field, in her assessment, not only disrupted the plane's instruments but also created a vacuum-like effect that dampened the sound of the engines.

More troubling were Tallow's suspicions about missing time. The discrepancy between the elapsed time felt by the crew versus what was shown on their watches led her to consider more disturbing possibilities. She wondered if the entities might have actually entered the aircraft during this period, with the crew's memories of such an intrusion somehow erased or suppressed.

Tallow noted that several crew members struggled to process the experience afterward:

Some flatly denied anything unusual had occurred
Others acknowledged something happened but refused to discuss details
A few, like Tallow, remained convinced they had encountered something truly inexplicable

The pact of silence among the crew, while ostensibly to protect their employment, may have also served as a psychological defense mechanism against confronting an experience that challenged their understanding of reality.

The 1990 Air Mexico UFO Encounter: Entities on the Wing During Atlantic Flight