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DHL cargo plane crashes near Vilnius Airport, one killed and three injured

A DHL cargo plane operated by Swiftair crashed while approaching runway 19 of Vilnius Airport in Lithuania while coming in to land in the wee hours of Monday morning.


By: Tate

Published on: 26 November 2024, 12.47pm


The aircraft was 31 years old. Photo: Olivier Cabaret/Flickr


A DHL aircraft crashed just short of runway 19 at Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, early Monday morning during its final approach. The aircraft was a 31 year old Boeing 737-400 Freighter and was registered EC-MFE. One crew member was injured while 3 survived with injuries. Several departing flights were delayed due to the crash, with one incoming flight being diverted to Riga, Latvia.


The aircraft had departed from Germany’s Leipzig Halle Airport (LEJ/EDDP) earlier that morning and was on its final approach into Vilnius International Airport (VNO/EYVI) when it crashed into a residential area just outside Vilnius Airport, on Žirnių Street, nearly hitting residential buildings, and setting ablaze a 2-story house.


A pilot and two passengers were rescued from the crash site, albeit with injuries. However, the other pilot unfortunately died on impact. The occupants of the house which was ablaze were safely evacuated. The Fire and Rescue Department of Vilnius was quickly rushed to the scene, extinguishing the blaze. 


The cause of the crash is still unclear, and investigations by the local authorities are in their early stages, with Darius Jauniskis, head of Lithuania’s State Security Department, adding that it is “probably too early to link it to anything or make any attributions”. A statement released by DHL said that the plane had “made a forced landing about one kilometer from VNO (Vilnius) Airport”, with the cause of the crash remaining unknown.


Project AeroFlight extends our sincerest condolences to the family of the pilot.


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