EMAATFA Aerobatic Team
The T-6C team of Mexico’s tactical weapons school, formed in 2013 and the first Mexican Air Force team to display abroad, at Laughlin AFB in 2024.
EMAATFA Aerobatic Team: how the team came to be and what it flies today
A weapons school team
EMAATFA, the Escuela Militar de Aplicación Aerotáctica de la Fuerza Aérea, is the Mexican Air Force’s school of tactical application, where newly qualified pilots learn formation, night flying and air-to-ground gunnery on the T-6C+ Texan II. Its instructors formed an aerobatic team in 2013, a year after the T-6C arrived, starting with five aircraft and growing to six by 2015. The school now operates from Military Air Base No. 11 at Santa Gertrudis in Chihuahua.
The FAMEX collision and since
On 25 April 2015, during the closing display of the FAMEX aerospace fair at Santa Lucía, two of the team’s T-6Cs touched in a mirror manoeuvre. One aircraft went out of control and crashed onto a helicopter pad on the base; its crew ejected and no one was hurt, but the fair’s last day was suspended. The team flew as four aircraft afterwards and later returned to six. On 9 March 2024 it flew formation passes at the Laughlin AFB show in Texas, the first international appearance by an official Mexican Air Force team.
EMAATFA Aerobatic Team in numbers
The team
- Formation
- 6 vliegtuigen
- Five aircraft in 2013
- Six from 2015
- Four after the April 2015 collision, later six again
Flown by EMAATFA instructors.
Het vliegtuig
- Flown
- Beechcraft T-6C+ Texan II
- Beechcraft T-6C+ Texan II (2013–)
Thuis
- Based at
- Santa Gertrudis air base
- Military Air Base No. 11, Santa Gertrudis, Saucillo, Chihuahua
The display
- Aircraft in the display
- 6
Every type EMAATFA Aerobatic Team has flown
| Vliegtuig | Jaren | Number | Opmerking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft T-6C+ Texan II | since 2013 | 6 | Five in 2013, six from 2015, four after the 2015 accident, six again by 2024. |
What EMAATFA Aerobatic Team is known for
- Formed by EMAATFA instructors in 2013 (Spanish Wikipedia).
- First international display by an official Mexican Air Force team, Laughlin AFB, 9 March 2024 (This is Flight).
EMAATFA Aerobatic Team, year by year
Team formed by EMAATFA instructors with five T-6C+ aircraft.
Expanded to six aircraft.
Collision at the FAMEX closing display at Santa Lucía; one aircraft lost, crew ejects safely.
Formation flypasts at Laughlin AFB, Texas, the first display abroad by a Mexican Air Force team.
EMAATFA is confirmed as operating at Military Air Base No. 11, Santa Gertrudis.
The cost of flying this close
Display flying is among the most demanding flying there is. These are the accidents on record, with the findings as published.
Beechcraft T-6C+ Texan II (two aircraft). During a mirror manoeuvre in the closing display of FAMEX 2015 at Military Air Base No. 1, Santa Lucía, aircraft 6602 struck 6603; one aircraft lost control and crashed onto a helicopter pad. The crew ejected and there were no injuries; the fair’s last day was suspended. No fatalities.
Everything people ask about EMAATFA Aerobatic Team
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Around EMAATFA Aerobatic Team
Alle feiten gecontroleerd
- Equipo Acrobático EMAATFA (Spanish Wikipedia)
- Mexican Air Force’s little-known EMAATFA aerobatic team makes surprise international debut at Laughlin AFB (This is Flight, March 2024)
- Se estrella avión en Feria Aeroespacial en Edomex (Proceso, 25 April 2015)
- Base Aérea Militar N.º 11 de Santa Gertrudis (Spanish Wikipedia)
- Sheinbaum visita instalaciones de la Defensa Nacional en Santa Gertrudis, Chihuahua (Eje Central, December 2025)
Verified 2026-10-02.