Cargo Plane Breaks Into Two During Emergency Landing

A cargo plane carrying mail and packages has broken into two during the emergency landing.

Gatekeepers News reports that the cargo plane skidded off the runway and broke in two during an emergency landing in Costa Rica on Thursday.

This led to the temporary closure of the international airport in San Jose.

According to reports, smoke was billowing from the bright yellow plane of German logistics giant DHL as it ground to a halt, having slid off the runway when it spun and broke up around the rear wheels.

Although Costa Rica’s firefighters chief, Hector Chaves said two crew members aboard were “in good health,” a Red Cross worker, Guido Vasquez, said the Guatemalan pair were sent to the hospital as a precaution “for a medical check-up.”

Vasquez added that the pilot was shaken up but both crews were conscious and “remember everything vividly.”

According to reports, the accident happened just before 10:30 am (1630 GMT) after the Boeing-757 plane, which had taken off from the Juan Santamaria international airport outside San Jose, was forced to return 25 minutes later for an emergency landing due to a mechanical failure.

The crew had reportedly alerted local authorities to a hydraulic problem.

Following this, operations at the country’s biggest airport were shut down until around 5:30 pm, impacting hundreds of flights and over 8,000 passengers.

Nevertheless, Ricardo Hernandez, General Manager of Aeris, the public company which manages the airport said activities have now gone back to normal, “as well for the arrivals as for the departures.”