Queen Mathilde was onboard the plane (Image: GETTY)
was onboard a plane that was forced to make an emergency landing after the aircraft malfunctioned.
The 52-year-old wife of King Philippe of Belgium was known to be flying to Costa Rica on Sunday, February 9 when the KLM-operated Boeing 787-9 had to make an early landing shortly before arrival.
The royal, who was on her way to a three-day visit, was on the flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José.
reports that a crack then appeared in the cockpit window shortly before landing.
The crew continued the flight but requested priority landing at the Costa Rican airport, something which was guaranteed.
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KLM later confirmed the incident before stating that the safety of all the passengers onboard – including the Belgium Queen – were never at risk.
As a photograph of the crack emerged, Belgian royal commentator Wim Dehandschutter took to X to discuss the incident.
He wrote: “The aeroplane with Belgian Queen Mathilde landed in Costa Rica with a cracked windshield, according to this account and local media. I was on that flight. As passengers, we didn’t notice anything, and we didn’t receive any notification during the flight or upon landing.”
Discussing it further, he added: “Our KLM flight did leave Schiphol 20 minutes late, there was turbulence – as on many flights – and the landing was quite hard, but nothing seemed to be alarming.”
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The plane was flying to Costa Rica (Image: fl360aero/X)
Adding their surprise over the media coverage, they added: “So I was a bit surprised when I read reports in the local media and on X about the ’emergency landing’.”
Like other passengers onboard, the Belgium Queen was unharmed. Following the incident, she was later known to have been officially welcomed into the country by children waving national and Unicef flags. She also met Costa Rica’s president, Rodrigo Chaves and first lady Signe Zeikate.
The plane from the incident is now awaiting repairs. It has also been confirmed that passengers who were due to use the plane for a return were re-booked on alternative connections.
During her visit later that day, the Queen also visited a coffee plantation supporting children of seasonal workers. She also stopped at a community programme for vulnerable children.