The preliminary analysis of the black boxes from the DHL cargo aircraft that crashed in Vilnius in late November 2024 shows no evidence of “unlawful interference”, Lithuania’s Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division of the Ministry of Justice has announced.
On December 20, 2024, the Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division completed the primary analysis of its safety investigation into the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder of the DHL cargo aircraft.
The information currently available reaffirms that there is no evidence of “unlawful interference” related to the crash, according to the Ministry of Justice. As such, previous theories of terrorism or sabotage behind the crash are no longer being considered.
On December 9, 2024, officials from the Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division, along with Lithuanian police, retrieved a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder from the crash site for examination.
The data of both recorders were successfully scanned by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU). The flight data recorder contained many technical details about the flight, while the cockpit voice recorder captured the crew’s conversations and background sounds from the cockpit.
The Ministry of Justice added that, by examining specific data from the recorder, they could create an initial picture of the aircraft’s flight path.
The International Safety Investigation Group, which includes safety investigators from the safety investigation authorities of Spain, Germany and the United States, will now continue conducting the safety investigation into the crash.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-400, freighter operated by Swiftair of Spain on behalf of global logistics giant DHL, crashed near Vilnius Airport (VNO) early in the morning of November 25, 2024. One pilot, a Spanish citizen, was killed in the crash. Three other people on the aircraft, nationals from Lithuania, Germany and Spain, were injured.