A routine trip for Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took an unexpected turn when his airplane, an Airbus A319, experienced a technical problem mid-flight from Mexico City back to Brasilia. The plane had to circle over Mexico for hours to consume enough fuel for a safe landing, eventually touching down at the Felipe Angeles airport, north of Mexico City, almost five hours after departure.

Lula, who had just attended the inauguration of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, was safe and planned to board another plane to complete his journey home. Members of Lula’s staff on the plane suspected a bird strike as the cause of the technical issue.

This incident comes after a similar technical problem affected Lula’s security team’s plane in January during a trip to Brazil. Fortunately, everyone involved was unharmed, and the situation was handled without further complications.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.