More than four months after the crash of a cargo plane coming from Germany in Lithuania, the local authorities have presented a 30-page interim report on their investigations. The most important message is that "no signs of unlawful interference or terrorism" have been found, said Justice Minister Rimantas Mockus at a press conference in Vilnius. The investigation is therefore continuing. The aim is to present the final report as soon as possible.
The Swiftair plane, which was on its way from Leipzig to Vilnius on behalf of DHL, crashed into a residential area near Vilnius Airport on the morning of November 25 shortly before the planned landing and crashed on the ground. One of the four crew members was killed, while the rest of the crew - another Spaniard, a German and a Lithuanian - survived with injuries. According to Mockus, it was "one of the biggest air disasters in the history of independent Lithuania".
No evidence of unlawful interference in flight operations
The interim report compiles the facts gathered in the first four weeks after the incident, said Laurynas Naujokaitis, head of the ministry's safety investigation department. There were no indications of any unlawful interference in flight operations.
The information in the interim report is consistent with the assessments of the Lithuanian Prosecutor General's Office announced the previous week, which based its investigations on the assumption that the plane crash was caused by human error on the part of the pilot. According to this, the accident was probably caused by the deactivation of the hydraulic system responsible for extending the landing flaps.
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