Juan Santamaría Airport Restarts Operations After Cargo Plane Crash

The Juan Santamaría International Airport restarted operations this past Thursday after the crash of a DHL cargo plane . According to Aeris, the company in charge of the airport, the opening will be complete, both for incoming and outgoing flights. Initially, the runway was scheduled to be closed for more time.

“Aeris, manager of the airport, worked quickly in coordination with the respective authorities to attend to this morning's emergency and facilitate the opening, as well as the conditions of service for airlines and passengers,” the company reported.

The recommendation issued by the airport administration is that passengers contact their airline for information on rescheduling the flight.It is estimated that some 32 commercial flights were affected by what happened. Some airlines include Volaris, Aeromexico, Air Canada, American and United.The destinations are to and from the United States, Central America, Mexico, Canada, and Europe. Three cargo flights are added to these flights.

During this past Thursday, audio circulated where the pilot of the plane is heard warning about the faults in the aircraft.”May Day! May Day! May Day! We have problems with the left hydraulic system , with two souls on board”, he reported, referring to him and the copilot.“We have two and a half hours of fuel. We have corrosive liquid”, said the pilot.

The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. on the airport runway. Only the pilot and co-pilot were on the plane, who had to be transferred to the San Rafael de Alajuela hospital for evaluation.The emergency occurred in front of the fire station at this airport and it is estimated that the salvage operations started in just one minute after the incident.