A team of investigators from the United States (US) are travelling to Lithuania to assist authorities with their investigation of the DHL plane crash near Vilnius Airport (VNO).
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on November 25, 2024, that its investigators will lead a team that includes experts from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing to help establish why a Boeing 737-400 freighter operated by Swift Air of Spain for DHL crashed.
The NTSB will provide assistance to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division which is leading the overall inquiry into the crash.
“Per international protocols under the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Annex 13, the Lithuanian government will release any information on the investigation,” a spokesperson for NTSB said.
According to LRT, representatives from Spain and Germany will also arrive in Lithuania to investigate the crash.
A Spanish pilot was killed and three others on board the flight were injured when a DHL Boeing 737-400 freighter crashed during its final approach into Vilnius Airport.
The aircraft, registered EC-MFE, departed Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ) in Germany at 03:08, local time, on November 25, 2924, and was due to arrive in Vilnius at around 05:30, local time. It is understood that the crash occurred at 05:28.
On November 26, 2024, the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told Žinių Radijas radio that evidence suggests the “cause of this crash will be fully determined”.
While a technical problem or pilot error is most likely the cause behind the crash, there has been speculation that sabotage may have played a role.
Fires at cargo warehouses in Birmingham, United Kingdom, and Leipzig, Germany, in July 2024 were caused by incendiary devices hidden in packages that were transported by DHL from Lithuania.
“So far, there are no signs or facts that this is a sabotage or a terrorist act if we are talking about external influence on the plane,” said Lithuania’s Minister of National Defense Laurynas Kasčiūnas on November 25, 2024.
For all the latest developments on the DHL plane crash visit our dedicated webpage.