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A shocking video has surfaced of a DHL cargo plane breaking cleanly in two on an airport runway.
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The plane made an emergency landing at Juan Santa Maria International Airport in Costa Rica.
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It was seen taxiing and then came to an abrupt stop before the fuselage apparently broke in two.
A DHL plane split cleanly in two after it skidded off the runway and came to an abrupt stop at Juan Santa Maria International Airport in Costa Rica.
Video of the incident, which happened around 10 a.m. local time on Thursday, shows the plane skids down the runway, taxis and turns, then comes to a stop. When the plane came to a stop, the fuselage appeared to crumble, breaking the craft into separate pieces — its body and its tail wing.
Other videos of the scene showed the plane being doused with water by firefighters.
Luis Miranda Munoz, deputy director of Costa Rica’s Civil Aviation Authority, told The Guardian that the plane was en route to Guatemala but encountered a hydraulic system failure. The pilots requested that they return and make an emergency landing after traveling some 35 miles, according to The Guardian.
DHL confirmed in a statement to Insider that a DHL Boeing 757-200 aircraft with tail number JOS2716 had indeed sustained “continuous damage” during its landing at the Costa Rican airport.
“We are pleased to report that the crew was physically unharmed in the incident. A crew member has been medically examined as a precaution,” writes the DHL spokesperson. “We are in consultation with airport authorities to move the aircraft out of the area near the runway.”
DHL also told Insider that the runway has since reopened and airport operations have resumed. The spokesperson added that an investigation is underway to find out what happened.
A Boeing representative referred Insider to DHL’s statement about the incident.
About 8,500 passengers and 57 commercial and cargo flights were affected by the closure of the airport, which reopened five hours after the crash, according to The Guardian.
Read the original article on Insider
