Haunting Descriptions of the 1986 Cerritos Air Collision Made Headlines Worldwide

On Aug. 31, 1986, the then sleepy suburban town of Cerritos was faced with unfathomable tragedy when a commercial aircraft collided with a small plane directly over the city. With no survivors from the initial air collision, much more death and destruction followed as metal, fire, and bodies rained onto Cerritos homes, trees and the unoccupied grounds of . The number of fatalities fluctuated as the wreckage was cleared, but in the end, the accident killed a total of 82 people, including everyone on both aircrafts and 15 people on the ground.

News of the disaster made front-page headlines across the world, and for many, it was the first time anyone had heard of Cerritos. 

The photos shown here are a collection of the chilling newspaper headlines that followed in the days after the crash. Each article contained horrifying descriptions of the event and heartbreaking quotes from the Cerritos locals that lived through the devastation. 

City Invites Community to Attend 25th Anniversary Remembrance

The community is invited to attend the Cerritos Air Disaster 25th Anniversary Remembrance at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 31. The ceremony will be held at the Cerritos Air Disaster Memorial in the Cerritos Sculpture Garden which is located in the Civic Center.

The memorial will be a respectful gathering held in memory of the victims of the Aug. 31, 1986 mid-air collision. The remembrance will include a brief formal ceremony with the Cerritos City Council; a reading of the victims' names; a prayer for the victims and their loved ones; and a moment of silence.

For more information, please call the City's Community Participation Division at (562) 865-8101.