DHL plane splits in two amid emergency landing at Costa Rica's airport

Dhaka: A Boeing 757-200 cargo aircraft slid off the runway and split in two while making an emergency landing at Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria International Airport on April 7, leading to the closure of the airport till 6:00 pm local time.

The plane was operated by DHL. The pilot and copilot were evacuated, according to reports.

Social media posts showed images of the yellow aircraft emblazoned with DHL with its tail detached and a broken wing, being doused with firefighting foam as its lay partly in a grass field and the runway.

DHL, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post AG, said the crew were physically unharmed in the incident, adding "one crew member is undergoing medical checks as a precaution."

Reports mentioned, Juan Santamaria airport, on the outskirts of capital San Jose, remained closed until 6 pm local time, impacting 32 commercial flights to and from the United States, Central America, Mexico, Canada and Europe. Three cargo flights were also affected.

The aircraft, bound for Guatemala, had a failure in the hydraulic system, prompting the pilot to request an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, said Luis Miranda Munoz, Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Costa Rica, according to reports.

Munoz said the aircraft is still on the ground and aviation authorities are waiting for it to be removed in order to resume operations.

DHL said they are coordinating with the airport authorities on moving the aircraft from the runway so that normal airport operations can be resumed as soon as possible.

- T