The Transport Accident and Incident Investigations Division of Lithuania’s Ministry of Justice has published an interim report regarding the safety investigation into the crash of a DHL cargo aircraft in Vilnius in late November 2024.
On November 25, 2024, a Swiftair Boeing 737-400 tragically crashed during its approach to Vilnius Airport (VNO) in the early hours of the morning. One pilot died, while another pilot and two passengers sustained serious injuries. The aircraft was completely destroyed.
The Ministry of Justice clarified that the safety investigation interim report is only based on the data obtained during the early stage of the safety investigation. According to the ministry, the report aims to provide the aviation sector and the public with an overview of the accident’s circumstances.
The report indicates that the crash was likely caused by the B hydraulic system malfunctioning during the flight, leading to a partial loss of control. Additionally, the anti-icing system had not been activated, even though conditions were suitable for icing.
Because of the hydraulic system failure, the crew mistakenly thought the flaps were extended when they were not, which adversely affected the aircraft’s handling, the interim report found. Moreover, the situation was worsened by communication issues between the crew and air traffic control.
The report aligns with earlier statements from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Lithuania, suggesting that human error, particularly the deactivation of the hydraulic system, likely caused the DHL cargo aircraft to crash.
Factual information from the report
At 02:08 local time the aircraft took off from Leipzig Halle Airport (LEJ). At 03:09:09 local time, the captain tried to contact the Vilnius Area control center (ACC) to report a descent into Vilnius but received no reply.
At 03:09:56, the captain made another attempt to contact Vilnius ACC. After discussing the correct frequency with the co-pilot, the captain switched frequencies and successfully reached Vilnius at 03:10:11 local time, receiving clearance to descend.
At 03:12:43, the crew talked about activating anti-ice systems due to the weather conditions. However, Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data showed that the anti-ice switches were not engaged at that time.
Data from the FDR also indicated that at 03:17:34, both the hydraulic system B electric pump and the engine-driven pump were turned off.
At 03:26:15, the aircraft entered the final approach phase. After 43 seconds, Vilnius air traffic control reached out to the crew. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) revealed that the captain responded to the request to switch to tower frequency but made two additional attempts to contact the Vilnius aerodrome controller on the wrong frequency.
At 03:27:56, the co-pilot noticed that the flaps were retracted. 11 seconds later, a “too low – terrain” warning sounded. The aircraft crashed to the ground a second later.
