An Alaska Airlines plane had to make an emergency landing at Juna Santamaría Airport (SJO), shortly after taking off at 11:06 am, declaring an alert in flight.
The plane, with 142 aboard heading for Los Angeles, was forced to return to Alajuela with engine problems, forcing the authorities to dispatch a large number of first responders – Bombers (Fire Department) Cruz Roja (Red Cross), Transito and airport security.
Apparently, a bird strike had occurred in one of its engines. The plane landed safely and without incident, passengers were taken to a special area and were finally able to leave Costa Rica on another plane.
According to Aeris, the airport manager, the incident caused delays in 7 other flights – 5 arriving and 2 departing.
This is the fifth air emergency that has occurred in recent days, the most recent being last weekend, with an American Airlines plane.
Civil Aviation explains that it maintains a crew at the country’s international airports – San Jose, Liberia (LIR) and Pavas – to keep birds from interfering with flight operations. A spokesperson for Aviacion Civil stressed that the birds are not endangered in any way in their measures to stay them clear of the airports.