The last minutes before the crash in Vilnius were so chaotic

The crash of a DHL cargo plane in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius has been troubling Germany for days. The central question here is the question of cause that remains unanswered. As Der Spiegel now reports, the final minutes before the crash featured all sorts of questionable decisions.

Captain and aircraft engineer Claus Cordes said: “Preliminary examination and careful interpretation of the sparse data available indicate that this is an aviation problem and not a technical problem.”

This is the process of the method

Multiple videos show the plane's final approach before the crash. The final method has fixed rules. The speed shortly before landing should not be too high, but it should also not be too low to keep the machine controllable in the air.

The report, which involved experts, said the plane was “very fast, perhaps too fast” on its approach. The pilot also lowered the nose of the plane too quickly. These assumptions were confirmed by publicly available flight data.

The question now is why the pilot did not abort the approach. According to the weather forecast, conditions were good for landing. Visibility was clear and no fog. The runway should also be clearly visible.

The remains of the machine.Image: trapezoid

Contact via radio

The reason for not aborting the landing attempt could have been a series of unfortunate circumstances. A second attempt to contact air traffic controllers was successful.

The following instructions from air traffic controllers caused confusion. Pilots don't know if they are only allowed to plan the approach, or if they have already been cleared to begin. When questioned, air traffic controllers confirmed that the landing approach had been cleared. At this time, the aircraft was descending at a speed of 550 kilometers per hour.

Because the speed was too fast, the approach failed and had to be repeated. The crew was asked to switch to the new frequency. The staff seemed to have misunderstood something and missed a number. Although pilots always have to repeat air traffic controller instructions, that didn't work here: the pilots gave the wrong frequencies, and the air traffic controller didn't correct them. As a result, the crew sent a radio broadcast into space. They also no longer heard instructions from the tower.

The crew then tried to reduce speed, but the sinking was too great, according to flight data. After a while, no sound is heard on the frequency.

Human error is conceivable

All this cannot yet be fully explained. Pilots are used to and prepared for the stresses of daily life. Misunderstandings can also happen.

An attack was also suspected. However, the fact that no emergency was reported proves this. According to an injured crew member, there were no signs of any unusual movement on the plane.

A more realistic theory is that the pilot attempted to take control of the plane and restore contact with air traffic controllers. Hopefully more answers will come from questioning the co-pilot and evaluating the flight recorders. (Keke)

France's right-wing nationalists surrounding Marine Le Pen have long been on the rise and are now more powerfully represented in parliament than ever before. However, a court case that ends in Paris on Wednesday could significantly slow down the ambitions of right-wing parties. Le Pen must take responsibility for the possible fictitious aide in the EU Parliament. The National Alliance was prepared for a guilty verdict and years-long court proceedings, but there were pitfalls in the prosecution's demands for punishment.