Spanish Pilot Fatality In Vilnius Air Accident



The deadly victim of the emergency landing of the Swift Air cargo plane in the Lithuanian capital is the Spanish pilot, local authorities said.  



The pilot died when the cargo plane, carrying four crew members, crashed in a residential area of ​​Vilnius.


Two people whose identities have not been released were hospitalized with injuries.


The accident occurred at about 5:30 a.m. (03:30 GMT) when the plane, a Boeing 737 operated by Spanish airline Swift Air for parcel delivery service DHL, was attempting an emergency landing.


The plane had taken off from the airport in the German city of Leipzig.


The pilot was found "without any signs of life," said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, director of Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center.


The other three crew members are Spanish, German and Lithuanian nationals, Elta news agency reported.


Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas said the plane "nearly crashed" into a residential building.


The building caught fire due to the impact of the debris, but the 13 residents who were in the houses were safely evacuated.



Vitkauskas cited "a technical problem" as the possible cause of the accident, but Lithuanian police say an investigation is needed to determine the cause.


"Terrorism cannot be ruled out," said Lithuanian police chief Arunas Paulauskas, noting, without elaborating, the "current geopolitical situation."


Germany issued a warning to logistics companies in late August about the possibility of "unconventional incendiary devices" sent by unknown parties via parcel service providers.


At the time, the German Federal Protection Office (BfV) and the Federal Criminal Investigation Office (BKA) issued a corresponding alert to companies in the aviation and logistics sectors.


The alert was related to an incident at DHL's logistics hub in Leipzig, which serves as the company's global hub.


In July, a package sent from the Baltic countries, allegedly containing an incendiary device, caught fire there.