The Spanish royal and his team were heading to Honduras to take part in a swearing-in ceremony for the Central American country's new president Juan Orlando Hernández.
But before the second-hand Airbus A310 could touch down in the Honduras capital of Tegucigalpa, pilots decided to make an emergency landing in the Dominican Republic after the aircraft’s oil warning light was activated.
Prince Felipe and his entourage were forced to wait nine hours in Santo Domingo before the jet’s technical issues were resolved and they could continue their journey to Honduras, Spanish daily 20minutos reported on Monday.
It's the second time the state-owned plane has experienced problems in the past two months, leading commentators to question the safety of the Spanish version of the US's Air Force One.
On November 24th, Spain's prince missed out on a political conference in Brazil after a wing flap malfunction mid-air forced the aircraft's pilot to make another emergency landing.
Spain's Defence Ministry has opened an investigation to determine what or who is behind the aircraft's recurring technical problems.
The government body has justified the acquisition of a second-hand plane by stating it would only carry out 600 hours of flight per year rather than the 3,000 brand-new aircraft are expected to complete.
Don't miss stories about Spain, join The Local on Facebook and Twitter.
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Member comments