"As regards the cargo plane crash, unlawful interference and terrorism were not identified. No signs of this were identified," the minister said in a press conference at the Ministry of Justice.
The Swiftair Boeing 737-400 was flying from Leipzig to Vilnius at night. It crashed short of Vilnius Airport runway.
Head of the Safety Investigation Division, Laurynas Naujokaitis, presented a summary of the interim report. The full 30-page document contains information about the flight process, pilots, aircraft, crash location, meteorological conditions etc.
According to him, data of the cockpit voice recorder showed that all the time the pilots communicated about the flight, indicating that there was no sign of unlawful interference in aviation activities.
Whereas the flight data recorder showed that when the aircraft was approaching for landing at Vilnius Airport its hydraulic system B was in the switched off position and the flaps were at 0 degrees at the time.
Naujokaitis said the approach for landing continued until the terrain warning sounded and soon after the plane crashed.
Having examined the wreckage on site, it was not determined that the plane had broken down before crashing into the ground. Various components of the aircraft were sent for an examination and these findings are yet to be received.
It was also determined that the fire occurred after the plane came into contact with the ground.
Representative of the Justice Ministry confirmed that the engine anti-icing system had not been turned on and the crew faced challenges in maintaining the radio frequency with airports’ air traffic controllers.
The crew consisted of two pilots and there were two passengers. The captain, a citizen of Spain, died in the crash. The second officer and both passengers were seriously injured.
The investigation into the crash is carried out by investigators from Lithuania, Spain, Germany and the United States.
Earlier in March, the Prosecutor General’s Office stated that human error might have been the cause of the accident and it may make allegations against the pilot.
As reported, law enforcement continues the pre-trial investigation into homicide through negligence, severe health impairment, destruction of or damage to property through negligence and improper maintenance or repair of vehicles.
Sixteen individuals are deemed to be the injured party.
The Swiftair Boeing carrying cargo for DHL crashed short of Vilnius Airport runway on 25 November 2024.
The plane was completely destroyed. Its wreckage hit a part of a residential house, causing a fire. Cars parked nearby caught on fire as well. Thirteen people were evacuated from the building.
Investigators initially probed a pilot error, malfunction of the plane and malfunction of airport equipment as causes of the disaster. The possibility of terrorism or sabotage was considered as well but rejected after examining the evidence.