Monday morning, a DHL cargo plane crashed while preparing to land at Lithuania’s Vilnius Airport (VNO), killing one person on board and injuring three others.

After taking off from Leipzig, Germany, the Boeing 737 made a “forced landing” a kilometer from the airport, splitting into pieces on impact and sliding more than 100m, leaving a trail of wreckage on fire.

Germany’s foreign minister suggested the incident could have been a hybrid attack in “volatile times”, apparently referring to alleged acts of sabotage by Russia against Ukraine’s European allies.

German authorities are already investigating several fires caused by incendiary devices hidden in packages at a Leipzig warehouse intended for delivery by DHL earlier this year.

Lithuanian officials said there was so far no indication of sabotage, but the investigation into the accident continues.

Here, I examines some of the unanswered questions surrounding the incident.

Was there an emergency transmission from the Boeing crew?

The Boeing 737-400 – operated by Swiftair airline on behalf of DHL, a German logistics group – left Leipzig at 02:08 GMT, crashing north of the Vilnius airport runway at 03:30.

Surveillance video showed it descending normally as it approached the airport before sunrise, then exploding in a huge fireball behind a building.

A Lithuanian police spokesman said one person on board, a Spanish citizen, was killed and three others – citizens of Spain, Germany and Lithuania – were injured.

Lithuanian officials said there were no signs of anything unusual from the pilots during radio contact with the plane.

Minutes before the accident, the pilot greeted air traffic controllers on the ground and established the correct runway for landing.

But as the plane made its final approach, communications went silent and attempts to contact the crew went unanswered.

“In the recording of the conversation between the pilots and the tower, the pilots until the very last second did not report any extraordinary events to the tower,” Marius Baranauskas, head of the National Aviation Authority, said on Monday. Lithuanian aviation.

“We need to look at the black boxes to find out what was happening on the plane.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Lithuania’s Justice Ministry said the black boxes containing flight data and voice recorders had been found.

Investigators are preparing to review the documents, the government added in a statement.

Read next

Why did the DHL plane flip onto its side during final approach?

In footage of the incident, the plane is seen turning rapidly to the side moments before crashing in a residential area, near a road.

The same movement was described by witness Kotryna Ciupailaite, who saw the plane fly over her car as she drove to work.

“The right wing of the plane tilted before it crashed, as if it was trying to turn,” she said. “There was something shiny coming out of the right side of the plane, like sparks or a flame, before it hit the ground.”

What does Germany say about the DHL crash?

The accident comes amid growing suspicion among Western security officials that Russia is sabotaging their countries in retaliation for their support of Ukraine.

After expressing sympathy for the victims, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a hybrid attack could not be ruled out.

“We and our Lithuanian partners must now seriously ask ourselves whether this is an accident or, after last week, another hybrid incident,” she said. “It shows what unstable times we live in in the middle of Europe.

She was apparently referring to damage to two data cables under the Baltic Seaone of which ends in Germany, which German officials believe was caused by sabotage.

Have there ever been attacks in the DHL warehouse?

German investigators are already looking into several fires caused by incendiary devices hidden in DHL packages at a warehouse in Leipzig, a major freight hub.

In August, authorities warned businesses that dangerous packages could be in circulation, after goods sent by individuals in several European countries caught fire while in transit.

The head of German domestic intelligence told a parliamentary committee that on one occasion in July a plane crash was narrowly avoided thanks to a an air cargo package caught fire before being loaded on board.

At the same parliamentary hearing, Thomas Haldenwang highlighted a significant increase in Russian espionage and sabotage activities in Germany.

British police are investigating a July fire at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham caused by the burning of a package, which Polish authorities have linked to Russian-backed saboteurs.

Polish authorities made four arrests following the incident after packages “containing explosives” were allegedly sent by courier companies to the UK and other EU countries.

Prosecutor Katarzyna Calow-Jaszewska said the group’s goal was allegedly to “test the transfer channel of these packages, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada.”