A cargo plane crash early Monday morning on the outskirts of Vilnius, Lithuania, left one crew member dead, while three others, including the pilot, survived the harrowing ordeal. The plane, during the course of a journey from Leipzig, Germany, was attempting to land at Vilnius Airport when it crashed just a few kilometers from the runway, skidding hundreds of meters before striking a residential home. Despite the severity of the crash, 12 people inside the house were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported on the ground.
Local authorities confirmed that the crash occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time near Zirniu Street, south of the Lithuanian capital. Renatas Pozela, chief of the Fire and Rescue Department, reported that the cargo plane skidded on the ground before crashing into the yard of a nearby house. Authorities found one crew member without any signs of life, while the other three, including a Lithuanian, German, and Spanish national, were rescued and taken to the hospital.
The plane, a Swiftair Boeing 737-400, was operating under a contract with DHL and had four people on board. According to a statement from the logistics company, the flight was attempting a forced landing when the crash occurred. DHL has confirmed that an investigation into the cause of the crash is underway, though the specific circumstances remain unclear. A spokesperson for Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center stated that police are investigating the incident, but there is no immediate evidence to suggest an explosion preceded the crash.
Dramatic footage captured by a nearby security camera shows the plane descending before disappearing behind a building. Moments later, a large fireball erupted into the sky, followed by thick black smoke. The fire was finally brought under control by 7:33 a.m. local time. Vilnius Airport experienced some delays in departures as a result of the ongoing rescue operations, but all scheduled flights continued to depart.
Authorities are investigating a range of possibilities, including a technical fault or human error, as the cause of the crash. While terrorism has not been ruled out, Lithuanian Counter-intelligence chief Darius Jauniskis emphasized that it is too early to make any definitive conclusions. The head of Lithuania’s police, Arūnas Paulauskas, described the incident as likely the result of a technical malfunction or human error but assured the public that all leads would be thoroughly examined. It may take several days to gather sufficient evidence to determine the exact cause of the crash.
