DHL 757 runway excursion: what we know

A DHL de Guatemala Boeing 757-200PCF suffered a runway excursion on landing at Juan Santamaria Airport, Costa Rica on April 7.

The airliner, HP-2010DAE (c/n 29610), was operating JOS 2716, a service from the Costa Rican hub to its Guatemala City base, when its crew opted to return to their origin airport. Several media outlets have reported that the aircraft suffered a hydraulic failure shortly after departure, however this has yet to be determined.

After touching down on Juan Santamaria's Runway 07, the aircraft skidded to starboard, turning through 180 degrees before coming to a stop on an airport service road. The freighter's fuselage broke in two during the runway excursion, writing the aircraft off, however none of the crew were injured in the incident. The airport was briefly closed following the incident but has since reopened.

A DHL spokesperson stated shortly after: "We can confirm that a DHL de Guatemala SA B757-200F flight JOS2716 sustained damage upon landing at Juan Santamaria airport in Costa Rica. We are pleased to report that the crew were physically unharmed in the incident. One crew member underwent medical checks as a precaution. We are coordinating with the airport authorities on moving the aircraft from the area near the runway. However, the runway has reopened, and operations have now resumed at the airport. DHL’s incident response team has been activated and an investigation will be conducted with the relevant authorities to determine what happened. Until then, we are unable to share any further information."

An investigation led by the Autoridad de Investigacion de Accidentes e Incidentes, a branch of Costa Rica's Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil, is underway and will likely include input from both the aircraft's manufacturer and its operator.

The jet was built in 1999 and joined Taiwan's Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) that December. It was sold to Aerolease in March 2010, converted to freight use in Taipei that June and placed with DHL de Guatemala in December of the same year.