Officials from Spain and Germany are coming to Lithuania to investigate the causes of a cargo plane crash in Vilnius, said Laurynas Naujokaitis, head of the Justice Ministry’s Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division.
On Monday morning, a cargo plane, operated by DHL’s Spanish contractor Swiftair, crashed near Vilnius Airport. One crew member, a Spanish national, was killed in the incident, and three others were injured.
“At the moment, we have information that the German safety authority has appointed four investigators to carry out the safety investigation, and they are currently on their way to Lithuania. The safety investigation authority of the Kingdom of Spain has appointed two investigators who will arrive in Lithuania shortly,” Naujokaitis told the 15min news website on Monday.
According to him, the investigation into the causes of the crash could take about a year.
“According to European Union legislation, it is desirable [to complete the investigation] as soon as possible, but it is likely to take a year. However, when we collect the factual information and confirm it, we can publish interim reports with interim information,” Naujokaitis said.
The Justice Ministry also informed the authorities of the US, where the plane was manufactured, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the European Commission, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency about the incident.
“The sole purpose of a safety investigation is to prevent accidents and incidents in the future, not to determine who is at fault or responsible,” Naujokaitis said. “Who is at fault and responsible is determined by the judicial authorities. Our investigation is focused solely on aviation safety and is independent of other pre-trial investigations that aim to determine who is at fault.”
According to him, this is the first time that Lithuanian authorities have been confronted with such a situation.
“An accident of this magnitude is probably the first in the history of independent Lithuania,” the ministry representative said.
A DHL cargo aircraft crashed near Vilnius Airport on Monday morning, at around 5:30. The downed Boeing 737-476(SF) plane was owned by the Spanish airline Swiftair and was being used to transport DHL parcels. It was flying from Leipzig, Germany.
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