Boeing 737 Crashes Into Residential Building: 1 Dead, 3 Hospitalized As DHL Cargo Plane Bursts Into Flames After Failed Emergency Landing Near Vilnius Airport

A DHL-operated Swiftair Boeing 737-400 cargo plane registration EC-MFE crashed near Vilnius International Airport in Lithuania this morning. The aircraft, performing flight QY-5960, departed from Leipzig Airport, Germany, at 02:08 GMT. About 80 minutes later, the plane was on final approach to Vilnius’ runway 19.

Communication with air traffic control remained routine until about four nautical miles from the runway, after which the crew failed to check in with the control tower.

The plane crashed into a two-story residential building about 0.9 nautical miles from the runway. It skidded several hundred meters before impact, bursting into flames upon collision. The building was set on fire, along with nearby smaller structures and a car. Emergency services successfully evacuated all 12 residents from the building without injuries.

DHL refers to the incident as an emergency landing attempt. Of the four crew members onboard, one was killed, and three were hospitalized with injuries.

ADS-B data suggested the aircraft was flying at an altitude below the appropriate glide slope for its final approach, with an average descent rate of approximately 972 feet per minute and a ground speed of 149 knots.

Lithuanian police and prosecutors are investigating potential causes, including technical failure, human error, and terrorism although there is no evidence of an explosion preceding the crash. U.S. and European law enforcement agencies have been investigating a series of incendiary device incidents at DHL hubs in Germany and Britain earlier this year.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Read a comment over on AvHerald, Airport had a NOTAM mentioning work on the runway 19 ILS. Noted the risk of false indications. Although a Russian/Vlad conspiracy is much more appetizing!

  2. Anyone else remember when the Polish president and most of his party’s leadership died in a plane crash in Russia near Smolensk in 2010? T’was just ‘the weather’ (nothing to see here).

  3. Oh, and Prigozhin’s private jet suffered a mere ‘inflight break-up’ as planes sometimes do, on occasion. We’d all better be more careful. Like, make sure not to accidentally fall out of any windows. Again, I’m sure there was no foul play here or anywhere, ever.

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