On 4 June 1969, Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704, a Boeing 727-64 airliner registered XA-SEL, was destroyed near El Carmen, some 20 miles north of the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León.

During its approach to Del Norte International Airport, the crew contacted the landing controller and requested weather conditions and traffic information.

The crew asked if the radio beacon at Ciénega de Flores was operating, and received word that it was not functioning due to an electrical power outage.

[citation needed] Notable passengers on the flight included politician Carlos A. Madrazo, tennis star Rafael Osuna and the architect Jorge González Reyna [es].

[6] In an interview with Proceso magazine, writer Patricia Rosas Lopátegui also argued that the accident was a political assassination targeting Madrazo.