Incident Overview

Date: Monday 25 November 2024
Aircraft Type: Boeing 737-476 (SF)
Owner/operator: Swiftair opf DHL
Registration Number: EC-MFE
Location: c. 1,3 km N of Vilnius International Airport (VNO/EYVI) – ÿ Lithuania
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 4
Component Affected: Boeing 737-476 (SF) EC-MFEBoeing 737-476 (SF) EC-MFE
Category: Accident
A DHL Boeing 737-476 (SF) EC-MFE crashed during approach to runway 19 at Vilnius International Airport (VNO/EYVI) in Lithuania, resulting in the loss of one pilot and two passengers. The aircraft overshot the runway centerline, impacting terrain approximately 0.8 nautical miles from the runway threshold. The incident also triggered a residential building fire. The Vilnius Approach controller instructed the flight to descend to 2700 feet and report, but failed to receive a response. Initial ADS-B data indicates an overshooting of the runway centerline. The incident occurred at 0520LT with wind from 180ø at 17 knots, overcast conditions at 500-700 feet, and a temperature of 1øC (C) and dew point of -1øC (C).A DHL Boeing 737-476 (SF) EC-MFE crashed during approach to runway 19 at Vilnius International Airport (VNO/EYVI) in Lithuania, resulting in the loss of one pilot and two passengers. The aircraft overshot the runway centerline, impacting terrain approximately 0.8 nautical miles from the runway threshold. The incident also triggered a residential building fire. The Vilnius Approach controller instructed the flight to descend to 2700 feet and report, but failed to receive a response. Initial ADS-B data indicates an overshooting of the runway centerline. The incident occurred at 0520LT with wind from 180ø at 17 knots, overcast conditions at 500-700 feet, and a temperature of 1øC (C) and dew point of -1øC (C).

Description

DHL flight QY5960 (callsign BCS18D/Postman 18D), a Boeing 737-476 (SF), EC-MFE, was destroyed when it collided with terrain while on approach to runway 19 at Vilnius International Airport (VNO/EYVI), Lithuania. One pilot was killed. The second pilot and two passengers survived with unspecified injuries. A residential building caught fire as well. The Vilnius Approach controller had cleared the flight for an ILS Z approach to runway 19 and instructed the crew to descend to 2700 feet and report when established on the ILS. At 4nm from touchdown, the flight was instructed to contact Vilnius Tower at “118.205” with the ‘2’ being hardly readable. This was read back by the flight a “118.05”. This was the last transmission from the flight. Both Vilnius Tower and Vilnius Approach then attempted to contacted the flight without getting a response. Preliminary ADS-B data suggests the aircraft overshot the runway centreline during the right-hand turn to final approach. It became lined up about 1 nm past the Final Approach Point (FAP) for the ILS runway 19 approach, about 5,4 nm short of the runway threshold. The aircraft impacted terrain about 0,8 nm short of runway 19. At 0520LT, the Vilnius automated weather reported wind from 180ø at 17 knots, ceiling overcast at 500 and 700 ft agl, temperature 1ø Celsius (C), dew point -1ø Celsius (C).

Source of Information

https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2422090/cargo-plane-crashes-in-vilnius-one-person-killed, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/world/europe/dhl-lithuania-plane-crash.html, https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=34464a&lat=54.653&lon=25.289&zoom=13.0&showTrace=2024-11-25&trackLabels, https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/BCS18D/history/20241125/0217Z/EDDP/EYVI, https://www.ans.lt/a1/aip/002_13Jun2024/2024-06-13-AIRAC/graphics/eAIP/6364135_EY_AD_2_EYVI_22_IAC_ILSz_RWY19_en.pdfhttps://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2422090/cargo-plane-crashes-in-vilnius-one-person-killed, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/world/europe/dhl-lithuania-plane-crash.html, https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=34464a&lat=54.653&lon=25.289&zoom=13.0&showTrace=2024-11-25&trackLabels, https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/BCS18D/history/20241125/0217Z/EDDP/EYVI, https://www.ans.lt/a1/aip/002_13Jun2024/2024-06-13-AIRAC/graphics/eAIP/6364135_EY_AD_2_EYVI_22_IAC_ILSz_RWY19_en.pdf

Primary Cause

Aircraft overshooting the runway centerline during approach.Aircraft overshooting the runway centerline during approach.

Share on:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *