A plane making an emergency landing at Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria international airport broke neatly in two in a jaw-dropping video.
The aircraft, a Boeing 757-200 cargo plane run by DHL, can be seen skidding down the runway as the crew lost control, before breaking completely in half.
Amazingly, DHL reported that the crew of two was unharmed by the incident, although one member was having a medical review as a precaution.
Photos shared by the Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion showed firefighters covering the plane in foam after the tail and a wing broke off.
The aircraft was heading to Guatemala when an error in the hydraulic system disrupted the flight, according to the Costa Rica’s civil aviation authority.
The pilot then called for an emergency landing shortly after takeoff.
DHL said that its incident response team “has been activated and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened”.
The airport reopened at Thursday 3.30pm local time, five hours after the crash.
Approximately 8,500 passengers and 57 flights were affected by the closure, according to the airport operator Aeris.
Hector Chaves, director of the 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.”