DHL 757F suffers catastrophic damage in Costa Rica

A 757-200PCF in operation with DHL Aero Expreso, DHL Express’ Panama-based airline, sustained heavy damage after landing at Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica. Photos and videos on social media show the 1999-vintage aircraft (29610, ex-Far Eastern Transport), powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2000 engines, entering a ground loop just shy of a taxiway after landing at SJO’s runway 07. [caption id="attachment_417926" align="alignright" width="560"] Apart from Panama, DHL has 757s in Austria, Germany and the U.K. (Photo/DHL Express)[/caption] Current wind and weather at the time of the incident included variable broken cloud coverage and winds from the southwest at nine knots, according to published METAR data. Unit 29610 had departed an hour earlier en route to Guatemala City (GUA) on behalf of DHL de Guatemala but deviated from its course shortly after taking off. The aircraft circled in a holding pattern for another twenty minutes before making an attempt to land. Prior to spinning off the elevated runway, smoke could be seen from the main gear. The aircraft came to a rest on the south side of Runway 07 with visual separation of the starboard side engine housing and empennage section. DHL told Cargo Facts in a statement that despite the damage to unit 29610, the crew were physically unharmed in the incident but one crew member is undergoing medical checks as a precaution. DHL said it is coordinating with the airport authorities on moving the aircraft away from the runway so that normal operations can resume as soon as possible. DHL has activated an incident response team and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened, the company said. DHL Aero Expreso also has two 767-300BCFs, three other 757-200PCFs and two 737-400SFs. Another of DHL’s 757-200PCFs (25620), operated by U.K.-based DHL Air at the time, returned to Leipzig (LEJ) in February 2021 with its cargo door in full open position. That freighter is now in service with DHL Air Austria . Cargo Facts EMEA will take place LIVE May 9-11 in Dubai. Learn more and register.

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