One dead after DHL cargo plane crashes in Lithuania
25 November 2024, 14:44
Local media said the aircraft smashed into a two-storey home near the airport, killing on Spanish crewmember.
A DHL cargo plane has crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital, killing a Spanish crewmember.
The head of the country’s police said plane crashed shortly before landing at Vilnius airport on Monday morning.
The cargo aircraft was carrying four people when it crashed at 5.30am local time (3.30am GMT).
One person, a Spanish citizen, was declared dead and the other three crew members – who were Spanish, German and Lithuanian citizens – were injured, Lithuanian police said.
The circumstances of the accident are still being investigated.
The person who was killed was a member of the flight crew but not a pilot, officials said. Firefighters freed two pilots from the cockpit, one of whom was more seriously injured, according to the General Commissioner of the Lithuanian Police Arunas Paulauskas.
He said that investigators were considering possible causes including technical failure and human error, and have not ruled out the possibility of a terrorist act.
Prime minister Ingrida Simonyte cautioned against speculation, saying investigators needed time to do their job.
“The responsible agencies are working diligently,” Ms Simonyte said.
“I urge everyone to have confidence in the investigating authorities’ ability to conduct a thorough and professional investigation within an optimal timeframe.
“Only these investigations will uncover the true causes of the incident – speculation and guesswork will not help establish the truth.”
Police Commissioner-General Renatas Pozela said of the plane: “It fell a few kilometres before the airport, it just skidded for a few hundred metres. Its debris somewhat caught a residential house.
“Residential infrastructure around the house was on fire, and the house was slightly damaged, but we managed to evacuate people.”
The Lithuanian airport authority identified the aircraft as a “DHL cargo plane flying from Leipzig, Germany, to Vilnius Airport.”
Ms Simonyte said after meeting with rescue officials: “Thankfully, despite the crash occurring in a residential area, no lives have been lost among the local population.”
Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed the aircraft made a turn to the north of the airport, lining up for landing, before crashing a little more than a mile short of the runway.
Authorities did not immediately offer a cause for the crash. Weather at the airport was around freezing temperature, with clouds before sunrise and winds of around 18mph.
Weather at Vilnius International Airport was around freezing temperatures, with clouds before sunrise.
DHL Group, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, did not immediately return a call for comment.
The DHL aircraft was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor. The carrier could not be immediately reached.
The Boeing 737 was 31 years old, which is considered by experts to be an older airframe, though that Is not unusual for cargo flights.
