A DHL cargo aircraft has crashed near Vilnius Airport in Lithuania. According to a brief statement by Lithuanian Airports, the aircraft crashed in the residential area of Liepkalnis around 5:30 AM local time. The flight was a routine cargo service operating from Leipzig, and was reportedly a Boeing 737-400 operated by Swiftair on behalf of DHL.
City emergency services attended the site of the accident, along with a fire truck and a command team from Vilnius Airport.
DHL Crash Near Vilnius Airport
It is understood from early reports that one person has died and two have been injured after the cargo aircraft crashed into a house. According to a police report one pilot survived the accident. Twelve people were evacuated as firefighters continued to battle the ensuing fire.
According to an update from Lithuanian Airports at 7:35 AM local time, flight operations at nearby Vilnius Airport are continuing to operate normally.
Flight QY5960 Leipzig-Vilnius
The aircraft at the centre of this morning’s accident was operating flight QY5960 from Leipzig Halle Airport (LEJ). The aircraft, operated by Swiftair, was a Boeing 737 – 400 freighter aircraft, registered EC-MFE. This is a 31.2 year old freighter aircraft belonging to DHL Aviation.
Available flight data suggests that the aircraft may have been fast and low on its approach to Vilnius Airport. It impacted approximately 1 mile short of runway 19 Vilnius International Airport. The aircraft had been cleared to conduct a RWY19 ILS approach.
Update 07:25 UTC
The flight was operating with four crew members on board. According to the Vilnius mayor, the aircraft narrowly missed a residence and crashed in the nearby courtyard. 12 occupants of the building are safe and have been evacuated. The aircraft reportedly skidded across the ground for several hundred meters before coming to rest.
Update 13:40 UTC
According to the public broadcaster LRT, a spokesperson for the National Crisis Management Center, investigations into the accident are continuing. At this stage there is nothing to suggest that an explosion preceded the crash.
The Lithuanian Counter-intelligence chief Darius Jauniskis gave further comment at a news conference. “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.”
This is a developing story. Further updates will provide be provided as they come to hand.
Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly newsleter.
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
