Source: MDR
DHL confirmed yesterday that in the early hours of Monday morning, a Swiftair aircraft, a third-party provider operating on behalf of DHL, caught fire around 4:30 a.m. CET while attempting an emergency landing about one kilometer from the airport on its way from Leipzig to Vilnius.
A crew member of the Spanish contractor Swiftair is reported to have been killed, and three others injured. According to information from the Central German Broadcasting Corporation (MDR) and numerous statements from political figures throughout the day, and following previous attempted attacks on DHL using parcel bombs, it cannot be ruled out that this incident was also an act of sabotage.
Source(s): DHL/ MDR
Authorities, with the help of German and Spanish experts, have begun their investigations, which, including the evaluation of the flight recorder, could take up to a week before initial results are available.
MDR reports that the Boeing 737 operated by the Spanish airline Swift Air made an emergency landing approximately one kilometer from the airport. According to the Lithuanian rescue service, the cargo plane skidded several hundred meters after the crash. Debris struck a two-story residential building with four apartments. All twelve residents are safe.
The website link to the report on Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk MDR:
