The investigation so far into Monday’s DHL cargo plane crash in Lithuania has found no evidence of terrorism or sabotage. Both black boxes containing flight data and crew communications were seized and will be examined by investigators. This was announced on Tuesday by the Lithuanian prosecutor’s office and the government, reports TASR with reference to the Reuters agency.
On Monday, the machine of the German company DHL crashed into a residential building near the international airport in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. One of the four people on board the plane lost their lives, the rest were injured.
The Lithuanian General Prosecutor’s Office is leading one of two official investigations into the crash of the Boeing 737-400 operated by the Spanish airline Swiftair. “Our initial information does not indicate that we have to investigate anything more serious,” prosecutor Arturas Urbelis said in a statement, adding that the investigation is still ongoing. “During the investigation, we may find signs of activities of a different kind,” he added.
Foreign experts will also participate in the investigation. According to the Lithuanian media, investigators from Germany have already arrived, and experts from Spain and the USA, including those from the Boeing company, are also expected to arrive.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauséda called for restraint regarding the causes of the crash. According to him, the suspicion of possible sabotage should not be overestimated, but neither should it be trivialized. At the same time, such a version cannot be ruled out either.
According to the DPA agency, the plane crash raises questions mainly because the German security authorities warned at the end of August about “unconventional incendiary devices” sent by unknown persons via courier services. At the time, they related their warning to an incident at the DHL logistics center in Leipzig, where a package sent from the Baltics containing an incendiary item caught fire in July. As part of the investigation, several persons were also arrested in Lithuania at the beginning of November, which was confirmed by the general prosecutor’s office there.
