A DHL cargo plane operated by Madrid-based Swiftair crashed near Vilnius Airport in Lithuania early Monday (November 25), killing a Spanish crew member and injuring three others. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
The Boeing 737, en route from Leipzig, Germany, crashed at 5:30 a.m. local time while approaching the airport. The aircraft skidded a few hundred meters and struck a house in a residential area, though no local residents were harmed, according to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.
Surveillance footage captured the plane descending normally before erupting into a fireball upon impact, though the exact moment of the crash was obscured. Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicated the plane turned north of the airport, lining up for landing, but crashed about 1.5 kilometers short of the runway.
Of the four crew members aboard, one—a Spanish citizen—was killed, Lithuanian police communications head Ramūnas Matonis confirmed. The other three crew members, identified as Spanish, German, and Lithuanian citizens, sustained injuries. Firefighters freed two pilots from the cockpit, with one in serious condition, according to police commissioner Arūnas Paulauskas.
Fire and Rescue Department chief Renatas Požėla said the crash caused a fire in the surrounding area, though the house struck by the plane sustained only minor damage, and its residents were safely evacuated.
Officials are exploring several possible causes, including technical failure, human error, and the potential for a terrorist act. However, Prime Minister Šimonytė urged patience, stating, “Speculation and guesswork will not help establish the truth.”
Weather conditions at the time of the crash included freezing temperatures, cloudy skies, and winds of about 30 kph (18 mph). The aircraft, a 31-year-old Boeing 737, was considered older but not unusual for cargo operations.
An eyewitness, identified only as Svaja, described seeing a fireball and initially fearing the outbreak of a global conflict. “My first thought is that a world (war) has begun and it’s time to grab the documents and run somewhere to a shelter, to a basement,” she told local media.
The DHL-branded aircraft was making a routine freight flight to Lithuania’s capital, a key logistics hub in the Baltic region. Neither DHL nor Swiftair has issued a statement regarding the incident.
Further details are awaited as investigators work to determine the exact cause of the crash.
(With AP inputs)
