Coming from Leipzig, the Swiftair Boeing 737-400 crashed about 1.6 kilometers from the threshold of runway 19 at Vilnus Airport, next to a two-story building, which then caught fire . © Swiftair
A Spanish Swiftair Boeing 737-400SF crashed on November 25, 2024 on final approach to Vilnius airport. The plane came from Leipzig and was operated on behalf of DHL.
Shortly before 5:30 a.m. local time, Monday, November 25, 2024, a converted Boeing 737-400 freighter with four people on board crashed in Lithuania. The 31-year-old plane, registered EC-MFE, was operated by Spanish airline Swiftair on behalf of DHL. It had taken off from Leipzig/Halle Airport two and a half hours earlier under flight number BSC18D and was approaching Vilnius Airport when the accident occurred.
The Boeing 737-400 crashed about 1.6 kilometers from the threshold of Runway 19 at the airport, next to a two-story building, which then caught fire. In the crash, one of the plane's four occupants was killed and three other occupants survived with injuries. One person is believed to have died on the ground.
At the time of the accident, the north wind was blowing at 17 knots. The base of the clouds was 500 feet above the ground. The temperature was measured at 1 degree Celsius and the dew point was -1 degree. Ground visibility was greater than 10 kilometers.
The plane that crashed was built in 1993 for Australian Airlines. It was then operated by Qantas for 20 years before flying for Cambodia's Wat Phnom Airlines for around nine months. When this company filed for bankruptcy, the plane returned to the lessor, the Bank of Utah, which had it transformed into a freighter and then leased it to Swiftair. The EC-MFE has been flying in DHL colors for Swiftair since 2015.
