(Reuters) – The Juan Santomaria International Airport in Costa Rica reopened this Thursday, just hours after the production of the Boeing 757-200 cargo plane operated by DHL. Emergency landing And slipped off the runway and split its tail, aviation officials said.
The airport on the outskirts of the capital, San Jose, reopened at 3:30 pm local time, airport operator Aries said.
Aries said about 8,500 passengers and 57 commercial and cargo planes were affected by the closure.
The DHL, a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post AG, said the team was harmless and only one member was being examined by a doctor as a precaution.
Pictures of the Costa Rican newspaper Nation After landing on the lawn next to the runway, the yellow plane with the DHL logo is sprayed with fire-extinguishing foam. According to photos, the tail was severed and a wing was broken.
Luis Miranda Munoz, deputy director of the Costa Rican Civil Aviation Authority, said that apparently, the hydraulic system had failed as the plane was en route to Guatemala. The problem prompted the plane to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, he said.
A Boeing spokesman said it was sending questions to investigators.
DHL and airport officials said they were working together to move the plane, however they made it clear that it would not affect operations.
“The DHL’s incident response team has been activated and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened,” the DHL said.
Aries initially estimated that the airport would be closed until 6:00 pm local time, affecting three cargo flights and 32 commercial flights to the United States, Central America, Mexico, Canada and Europe.
