A DHL cargo plane split in two after it was forced to make an emergency landing in Costa Rica.
The Boeing 757-200 cargo plane suffered a hydraulic system failure on its way to Guatemala on Thursday, the Costa Rican civil air authority said.
The aircraft, operated by Deutsche Post AG, requested an emergency landing shortly after take off before skidding onto the runway. The tail of the plane then split from the aircraft as it came to a stop.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and doused the aircraft with foam.
DHL said the crew was unharmed but one member was undergoing a medical review as a precaution.
The operator said: “DHL’s incident response team has been activated and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened.”
A much clearer version of the crash landing has emerged!
— AviationSource (@AvSourceNews) April 7, 2022
Source: Unknown#DHL #AvGeek pic.twitter.com/FCYbgFaW0H
Héctor Chaves, director of he Costa Rica Fire Department, said: “Units mobilised to remove the pilot and co-pilot
“Then they applied foam to prevent a spill and now they are working on an earthen dike to avoid any fuel from reaching the drainage system.”
The airport reopened at 3.30pm, five hours after the crash was reported.
Approximately 8,500 passengers and 57 commercial and cargo flights were affected by the closure, Aeris said.
