A DHL cargo plane carrying four people crashed near an airport in Lithuania early Monday, killing one crew member. (Credit: Arvydas Paukstys via Storyful)
A DHL cargo plane crashed in Lithuania early Monday while approaching an airport, killing a Spanish crew member and injuring three others on board, officials said.
Surveillance video shows the Boeing 737 descending as it came in for a landing and disappearing behind a building. A moment later, a giant ball of fire exploded into the air. The footage does not show the moment of impact.
The DHL aircraft was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor, and was carrying four people when it crashed at 5:30 a.m. local time as the plane arrived from Leipzig, Germany, a major freight hub, the Lithuanian airport authority told The Associated Press.
DHL told AP in a statement that the plane “made a forced landing” about half a mile from the Vilnius airport. The cause of the accident is unknown, and an investigation is underway.
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Security footage shows the Boeing 737 descending as the aircraft begins its landing. (Arvydas Paukstys via Storyful)
One crew member, a Spanish citizen, was killed and three others – identified as Spanish, German and Lithuanian citizens – were injured in the crash, Reuters reported, citing local police.
The aircraft disappears behind a building and then a ball of fire erupts into the air. (Arvydas Paukstys via Storyful)
Rescue services told the outlet the plane broke apart on impact and skidded a few hundred yards in an area with residential homes. Officials said debris hit at least one house, though no one on the ground was injured.
“Thankfully, despite the crash occurring in a residential area, no lives have been lost among the local population,” Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė told reporters, according to The Associated Press.
Officials said the cause of the crash is unknown, and an investigation is underway. (Arvydas Paukstys via Storyful)
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The Boeing 737 involved in the crash was 31 years old, Reuters reported, citing a Flightradar24 database.
The Associated Press analyzed flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 and found the aircraft turned north of the airport to line up for landing before crashing just over a mile short of the runway.
While it remains unclear what caused the accident, the crash comes at a time when Western security officials have previously told Reuters they suspect Russian intelligence of conducting test runs for acts of sabotage on cargo flights to the United States.
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German officials are also investigating fires that occurred earlier this year in Leipzig, where incendiary devices were hidden inside parcels in a warehouse, Reuters reported.