An airport close to Costa Rica’s capital was briefly closed Thursday after a DHL cargo airplane break up in two throughout an emergency touchdown, officers mentioned. No one was injured.
The airplane, a vivid yellow B757-200F airliner about 155 ft lengthy, was headed to Guatemala when it was compelled to return to Juan Santamaria International Airport, northwest of San Jose.
The pilot and first officer on the airplane, which was carrying freight to Guatemala City, reported a “hydraulic issue” shortly after takeoff and needed to land, Daniel McGrath, a DHL spokesman, mentioned on Friday.
Video of the touchdown circulating on social media confirmed the airplane skidding off the runway. Smoke was seen billowing from it after it got here to a cease, and emergency automobiles rushed to the scene.
The airplane “sustained damage” upon touchdown, Claus Korfmacher, a spokesman for DHL, a package deal supply firm primarily based in Germany, mentioned in an announcement on Friday.
More than two dozen flights had been both canceled or delayed at Juan Santamaria International Airport on Thursday, in accordance with FlightAware, an internet site that tracks air journey.
Aeris, which manages the airport, mentioned in a brief assertion on Thursday that flights would resume by 3:30 p.m. native time and that it had labored rapidly with the authorities to handle that morning’s “emergency.”
Images confirmed the nostril of the airplane perched upon a hill and a deep separation close to the tail, exposing the cargo and inside. One of the airplane’s wings additionally seemed to be broken. Other photographs extensively circulated on social media confirmed firefighters spraying sections of the airplane with foam.
While no accidents had been reported, one crew member did endure medical checks as a precaution, Mr. Korfmacher mentioned, including that the corporate was coordinating with the authorities to take away the airplane from the world close to the runway.
“DHL’s incident response team has been activated and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened,” he mentioned.