Monday marked a somber anniversary as people who lost loved ones to one of the worst aviation disasters in history gathered in Cerritos to mourn those who died.

Forty years ago, 82 people died after Aeroméxico Flight 498 and a Piper Aircraft plane collided midair over Cerritos. All 64 passengers of the Aeroméxico plane, all three passengers of the Piper aircraft and 15 people on the ground sadly died.

A sculpture now rests near the crash site to commemorate the victims. It’s where their loved ones gathered on Monday for a moment of silence and a reading of the names of all those who died.

Alexander Guzman, whose father, brother, uncle and several other families died in the crash, was in attendance for the gathering.

“It’s like it was yesterday,” he said. “Every year at 11:56 is when I show up.”

Eri Cronkhite was 12 years old when the crash happened and had briefly left the neighborhood with her dad when the planes collided. She, unfortunately, lost her mother, sister and brother in the incident.

“On the way back, my dad actually saw the plane falling while we were driving back,” Cronkhite said. “I said, ‘Is that where they are?’ My dad said, ‘I don’t know, but it’s damn close,’ and we turned the corner and sure enough, the whole block was in flames.”

Martin Sicairos also lost relatives to the tragedy.

“I lost four,” he said. “My youngest brother, his wife and his two boys. I think about them all the time. It’s hard.”

NBCLA’s Hetty Chang lived a mere five houses down from where the crash happened. She recalls returning home from a shopping trip with her family when they saw a plume of smoke coming from their neighborhood.

Chang said retired Lakewood sheriff’s deputy Jerry Berry was one of the first first responders on the scene.

“I see this tower of smoke,” Berry said. “I’m like, wait a minute, what the hell is this? As I got closer, I saw it was a lot more than a little airplane.”

Although four decades have passed since the devastating collision, the emotions remain raw for those who lost loved ones and those who witnessed the tragedy.

“There’s no way you can forget,” Berry said. “What you saw, what you smelled.”