Cargo Plane Crashes Near Vilnius Airport, Killing One Crew Member, voice recorder shows everything normal before the crash.

A cargo plane crash near Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, early Monday morning claimed the life of one crew member, while three others, including the pilot, survived. The plane skidded into a residential house and erupted in flames, but all 12 occupants of the home were safely evacuated, according to local authorities.

The aircraft, en route from Leipzig, Germany, was approaching Vilnius Airport when it went down just a few kilometers from the runway. Rescue services said the plane hit the ground and slid at least 100 metres before crashing into the building.

The DHL aircraft was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor. An airport spokesperson said the plane was a 31 year old Boeing 737-400

Footage from a nearby security camera captured the moment the plane descended and disappeared behind a building. Seconds later, a fireball lit up the sky, followed by a column of thick black smoke.

“One crew member was found without any signs of life,” said Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center, as reported by public broadcaster LRT. He emphasized it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, with investigations into the incident still underway.

Two of the surviving crew members were hospitalized. Authorities confirmed that all four individuals on board have been accounted for, and there were no injuries reported among residents on the ground.

The crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. local time (10:00 p.m. ET) near Zirniu Street, south of Vilnius. Rescue and firefighting teams from Vilnius Airport and city emergency services responded swiftly to the scene.

An audio recording between the cockpit and control tower in the last few minutes before the crash shows that everything appeared routine.

According to aviation expert Vidas Kaupelis, who listened to the recording, the pilots did not declare any signs of alarm when talking to the flight controllers.

The control tower gives the flight clearance to land, the plane confirms, then contact is lost. Moments later, the control tower is heard telling another flight to hold its takeoff as there’s been a crash.

“Without going into details, it is possible to say that the pilots did not declare any danger, no problems. It was routine communication, a simple descent,” said Kaupelis.

“The fact that the aircraft crashed a few seconds after the end of the communication shows that the pilots themselves were surprised.

“If they had been dealing with major problems, like a fire or technical problems, they would have communicated about it with the flight controllers,” he added.

The aviation expert said that the crash could have been caused by technical problems.

However, an explosion or a fire onboard seems unlikely, and a terrorist attack cannot be ruled out.

“Pilots would have had an indication if a fire broke out in the aircraft… So far, it doesn’t seem that there was a fire in the cargo hold,” Kaupelis said.

This You Tube video shows the thick smoke immediately after the crash

“The city’s special services are managing rescue efforts alongside Vilnius Airport’s fire crews,” an airport spokesperson said.

Departures from Vilnius Airport faced delays Monday morning due to ongoing rescue efforts following the crash of a cargo plane near the runway. At around 7.20 a.m., aircraft were able to land and depart from Vilnius Airport according to airport notifications.

The plane, operated by Swift Air under contract with DHL, crashed about one kilometer from the airport during what DHL described as a “forced landing.” In a statement to CNN, the logistics company said four crew members were onboard and noted, “The status of the crew is still being clarified.” The company added that the cause of the crash remains unknown, pending investigation.

A replay of the flight route including speed and altitude can be seen at FlightRadar24

According to Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, the plane narrowly avoided hitting the residential house it ultimately collided with, instead crashing into the courtyard, public broadcaster LRT reported. Firefighters were seen dousing the area with water as thick smoke poured into the sky.

Initial reports suggest there was no explosion before the crash, a spokesperson for the National Crisis Management Center told Reuters. However, the investigation is examining all possibilities.

Arūnas Paulauskas, head of the Lithuanian Police, said the crash was “most likely due to a technical fault or human error,” while noting that terrorism “cannot be ruled out.” He emphasized that a thorough investigation could take at least a week to yield concrete answers. “This is one of the scenarios being considered, and a lot of evidence needs to be collected and analyzed,” Paulauskas said.