By Summary
- Cargo jet was flying to Lithuania from Germany.
- One dead, three injured aboard the Boeing 737-400.
- The plane made a forced landing, broke into pieces on impact.
- Investigations ongoing, no sign so far of sabotage.
- Germany is also investigating several fires caused by incendiary devices hidden in parcels intended for DHL delivery.
VILNIUS, Nov 25 (AfrikTimes) – A DHL (DHLn.DE) cargo plane crashed as it came into land at Lithuania’s Vilnius airport on Monday morning, killing one person in what Germany’s foreign minister later said could be an accident or a hybrid attack in “volatile times”. The three other people onboard were injured, and at least one of them was in critical condition.
Flames and smoke engulfed the wrecked plane as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze. Lithuanian officials said there was no indication of sabotage so far, though Germany is investigating several fires caused by incendiary devices hidden inside parcels at a warehouse in Leipzig for delivery by DHL earlier this year. German authorities were investigating Monday’s crash as well.
A Police officer guards the DHL cargo plane crash site near Vilnius International Airport, Lithuania November 25, 2024.
European countries have repeatedly expressed concerns about the vulnerability of civilian infrastructure — misgivings which also reared their head after the unexplained severing of two fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea last week.
“The fact that we, together with our Lithuanian and Spanish partners, must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or, after last week, another hybrid incident shows what volatile times we are currently living in, even in the center of Europe,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.
“The German authorities are working very closely with the Lithuanian authorities to get to the bottom of this,” she added.
The Boeing 737-400 jet, which went down at 0330 GMT, was operated by airline Swiftair on behalf of DHL, a German logistics group, and had left Leipzig, Germany at 0208 GMT, according to Flightradar24.
Lithuanian counter-intelligence chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters: “We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism…But at the moment we can’t make attributions or point fingers, because we don’t have such information.” A senior European intelligence official added that nothing was being ruled out.
Rescuers work near the wreckage of the DHL cargo plane at the crash site near Vilnius International Airport, Lithuania November 25, 2024.
In a statement, DHL said the plane, which was arriving from Leipzig, “made a forced landing” about one km (0.6 mile) from VNO airport and that the cause of the crash is still unknown.
Lithuanian officials meanwhile said there was no signs of anything extraordinary from the pilots during radio contact with the aircraft. “In the recording of the conversation between the pilots and the control tower, the pilots until the very last second did not tell the tower of any extraordinary event,” said Marius Baranauskas, head of the Lithuanian National Aviation Authority. “We need to examine the black boxes to know what was happening in the aircraft.”
Vilnius resident Kotryna Ciupailaite said the aircraft flew low over her car as she was driving to work. “The right wing of the plane turned down before it crashed, as if it was trying to turn. There was something shiny coming out of the right side of the plane, like sparks or a flame, before it hit the ground,” said Ciupailaite.
Ciupailaite shared a video recorded through her car windshield, showing a large fire behind a line of trees shortly after the crash. In the video, she was heard crying out, “Oh my God.”
Swiftair said the plane went down in a residential area near Vilnius airport, and that it had set up a call center to assist the relatives of those affected.
The wreckage of the DHL cargo plane is seen at the crash site near Vilnius International Airport, Lithuania November 25, 2024.
PLANE BROKE INTO PIECES ON IMPACT
Security camera footage showed an aircraft descending behind a warehouse after which the night sky was lit up in bright red and orange, followed by plumes of thick dark smoke.
Rescue services said the plane broke into pieces upon hitting the ground and slid over 100 meters (110 yards). Some debris hit a house, whose 14 occupants were later evacuated.
“Only a thorough investigation will provide answers to the true cause of this incident. Speculation and guesses will not help uncover the truth,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said in a statement.
Smoke billows following a DHL cargo plane crash in Vilnius, Lithuania, November 25, 2024.
STANDARD CARGO
A Lithuanian police spokesperson said one person onboard, a Spanish citizen, died in the crash. Three others—a Spaniard, a German, and a Lithuanian—were injured.
DHL has launched its own investigation into the crash, according to a spokesperson for the company’s Lithuanian branch.
“The aircraft was carrying standard parcels. We have no information suggesting that any of the packages were suspicious,” the spokesperson said.
The aircraft, a 31-year-old Boeing model, was listed in the Flightradar24 database. Boeing is seeking more information and has pledged support for the investigation, a Boeing spokesperson said.
The plane, flying from Germany to Lithuania, crashed near Vilnius airport Monday, setting a house on fire. The cause of the accident is still unknown, DHL said.
