A video shows the extraordinary moment a DHL cargo plane breaks in two during an emergency landing in Costa Rica.
The Boeing 757-200 crash landed at Juan Santamaria International Airport on Thursday morning after experiencing issues with its hydraulic system.
It had taken off from the same airport around an hour before, at 9.39am local time, but turned back when the problem was detected.
In the dramatic footage, the plane can be seen skidding on the tarmac, with smoke and dust in its wake, before making a sharp turn on the runway, then collapsing at the rear and splitting in half.
Moments after, a fire engine is seen rushing to the scene and further footage shows the aircraft being doused down.
A clip shared on Twitter shows the yellow aircraft skidding along the runway, taxiing and making a sharp turn, then coming to a stop.
Just seconds after it stops on the runway, its fuselage appears to crumble, breaking the narrow-body airliner into separate pieces.
The tail wing can be seen touching the ground as smoke billows out of the plane.
The cameraman can be heard gasping and shouting as he watches the disaster unfold, reports Daily Star.
Firefighters arriving at the scene quickly douse the smouldering plane with water and firefighting foam.
The two people onboard - both crew members - were reportedly unharmed, but one was being checked over as a precaution, according to DHL.
The busy airport was closed after the accident but reopened around 3.30pm on the same day.
Airport operator Aeris said around 8,500 passengers and 57 commercial and cargo flights had been disrupted.
A DHL spokesperson told website Simplyflying.com: "DHL’s incident response team has been activated and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened."
The spokesperson added: "We are pleased to report that the crew were physically unharmed in the incident. One crew member underwent medical checks as a precaution.
"We are coordinating with the airport authorities on moving the aircraft from the area near the runway."
