Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on FreightWaves.com.
U.S. aviation investigators went to the Costa Rican capital of San José this weekend to investigate why a DHL Express Boeing 757-200 freighter skidded off the runway on Thursday morning and broke in half before careening to a stop.
The aircraft bound for Guatemala City had just taken off when the two-person crew notified air traffic control of mechanical problems and requested to make an emergency return landing at Juan Santamaria International Airport. After touchdown, the 757 veered to the right and spun around, according to video posts. As the jet left the runway, the fuselage broke in two.
Neither crewmember was injured. The airport was temporarily closed after the accident. Published reports said that 57 flights were affected. Regular operations resumed at 3:30 p.m. local time, according to published reports.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is involved in the investigation under an international treaty allowing participation by the country where the aircraft was manufactured.
DHL Express is a unit of German transportation and logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL (OTCUS: DPSGY).
