Lithuanian prosecutors investigating last year’s DHL cargo plane crash in Vilnius have concluded that it was likely caused by an error of the pilot. They have named the pilot, a Spanish national, as the suspect in the case and have asked Spanish authorities to question him.
The cargo plane used by the German company DHL crashed while approaching Vilnius Airport in the early morning of November 25, 2024, killing one person onboard and injuring three others. It also damaged a residential house.
“After analysing and summarising the interviews conducted in Lithuania, inspections of the scene, recordings of the aircraft’s flight recorders and cockpit conversations, and other data obtained during the investigation, it was determined that the plane crash likely occurred due to a disabled hydraulic system responsible for deploying the flaps, which likely caused the plane to crash,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Other versions of the accident were refuted by the data obtained during the investigation,” it added.
The aircraft was carrying a crew of four, a 48-year-old Spanish citizen was killed. Three more people – a Spaniard, a German and a Lithuanian – were injured, but survived.
The aircraft was completely destroyed. The falling plane hit part of a residential building, and nearby warehouse and a car caught fire. Thirteen people were evacuated.
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