Plane carrying Queen Mathilde of Belgium forced to make emergency landing after dangerous malfunction
Queen Mathilde of Belgium experienced a terrifying start to her royal visit to Costa Rica after her plane was forced to make an emergency landing.
The Belgian royal, 52, was on her way to Costa Rica when her plane was forced to carry out a priority landing after it suffered a crack to the windshield during the flight on Sunday.
Mathilde was headed to the country for a three-day solo trip organised by UNICEF Belgium and UNICEF Costa Rica when the aircraft suffered the frightening crack.
The safety measure allows plane to skip the queue and land before waiting aircrafts in incidences of emergency.
But staff onboard were luckily able to steer the royal to safety, with the aircraft landing safely at San José Juan Santamaria International airport just 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
While the incident likely sparked concern for the crew onboard, it appeared the incident was unbeknownst to their royal passengers who arrived unscathed and none-the-wiser of the stressful ordeal.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, royal commentator, Wim Dehandschutter, wrote: ‘The airplane 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.’
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. So I was a bit surprised when I read reports in the local media and on X about the ’emergency landing’.
Having arrived safely, Mathilde has gone on to enjoy a fruitful visit to Costa Rica, and has already undergone several royal engagements.
First on the agenda for the queen was to meet with Costa Rica’s president, Rodrigo Chaves and first lady Signe Zeikate at the Presidential Palace.
There, she discussed the shared work of UNICEF Belgium and UNICEF Costa Rica, which is the reason for her embarking on the tour.
On Tuesday, Mathilde went to a a public childcare centre, where she was met by excited children waving the Costa Rican flag and the UNICEF flag.
She also visited La Cometa, a public childcare center in Tirrases, in the province of San José and later went to Lloverá Foundation (Fundación Lloverá), an organisation that supports and guides homeless people in Costa Rica.
She also visited a coffee plantation that supports the children of seasonal workers and a community programme for vulnerable children.
Mathilde toured on the the 45 safe spaces for children and adolescents in the country’s most vulnerable communities.
The trip is aims to highlight the charity’s work in Costa Rica where it is currently working towards tackling the issue of childhood obesity. According to figures, one in five children in Costa Rica are obese.
The mother-of-four has previously worked with UNICEF Belgium and the World Health Organisation.
Among her extensive charitable efforts over the years, the queen is also the founder of the Queen Mathilde Fund which promotes the care of vulnerable people.
Her trip to the Central American country will conclude on Wednesday, where she will hopefully return to Belgium without a hitch.
It comes shortly after the Belgian Royal Family released two new portraits to mark Queen Mathilde‘s 52nd birthday.
The royal household took to X, formerly know as Twitter, to share news that Mathilde, the first native-born Belgian Queen, is celebrating her special day.
Mathilde wrapped up warm in a white roll neck wool jumper under a navy longline padded jacket, which was cinched at the waist with a belt.
The Queen posed up a storm in the snow at Palace of Laeken – the official residence of the Belgian royal family in Brussels.
Beaming for the camera, the mother-of-four put on a typically stylish display in her new portraits.
The post read: ‘The Queen is celebrating her 52nd birthday today. Thank you for your warm congratulations in the middle of winter!’
The royal opted for a natural makeup look, complete with a dash of blusher across her cheeks and a slick of pink lipstick.
The second image offered a full-length shot of the royal, and she casually posed with her hands tucked away into her pockets as she gazed towards the camera.
Royal fans rushed to the comments to wish Mathilde a happy birthday. One person wrote: ‘We wish you a very happy birthday, Her Majesty Queen Mathilde!’
Another said: ‘I wish Her majesty Queen Matilda my best wishes and congratulations. Happy birthday! BE HAPPY!!!’
The queen was also seen attending Auschwitz Memorial Day at the end of last month, where she sat next to King Charles.
