DHL cargo plane crashes and skids into a house in Lithuania, killing a Spanish crew member

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — A DHL cargo plane crashed on approach to an airport in Lithuania's capital and skidded into a house Monday morning, killing a Spanish crew member but not harming anyone on the ground. The cause is under investigation.

A surveillance video showed the plane descending normally as it approached the airport before sunrise, and then exploding into a huge ball of fire behind a building. The moment of impact could not be seen in the video.

Lithuanian officials acknowledged that one line of inquiry will be whether Russia played a role given its suspected involvement in other cases of sabotage — although they stressed that there is no evidence pointing to that at this stage.

“Without a doubt, we cannot rule out the terrorism version,” said Darius Jauniškis, chief of Lithuanian intelligence.

Western security officials suspect that Russian intelligence is carrying out sabotage against their nations in retaliation for their support for Ukraine — including arson attacks, disinformation and by putting incendiary devices in packages on cargo planes. In July one caught fire at a courier hub in Germany and another ignited in a warehouse in England.

Polish prosecutors said last month that parcels with camouflaged explosives were sent via cargo companies to EU countries and Britain to “test the transfer channel for such parcels” that were ultimately destined for the U.S. and Canada.

“We see Russia becoming more aggressive,” Jauniškis said. “But for now, we really cannot make any attributions or point fingers at anyone, because there is no information about it.”

The Lithuanian airport authority identified the aircraft as a DHL cargo plane arriving from Leipzig, Germany, a major freight hub, and one of the injured was a German citizen.

The German transportation ministry said that experts from the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation would be sent to Lithuania to help with the investigation.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was in Italy for a meeting of foreign ministers from the world's most industrialized countries, expressed sympathy with the victims and said a hybrid attack could not be ruled out.

“We and our Lithuanian partners must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or, after last week, another hybrid incident. That shows what volatile times we are living in in the middle of Europe,” Baerbock said.

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

The head of Lithuania's firefighting service said that the plane skidded a few hundred meters (yards), and photos showed smoke rising from a damaged structure in an area of barren trees.

“Thankfully, despite the crash occurring in a residential area, no lives have been lost among the local population,” Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said after meeting with rescue officials.

Rescue workers sealed off the area, and fragments of the plane in DHL’s trademark yellow could be seen amid wreckage scattered across the crash site.

The cargo aircraft was carrying four people when it crashed at 5:30 a.m. local time. One person, a Spanish citizen, was declared dead and the other three crew members — who were Spanish, German and Lithuanian citizens — were injured, said Ramūnas Matonis, the head of communications for Lithuanian police, in an email.

The DHL aircraft was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor. DHL said in an emailed comment that the plane “made a forced landing” about a kilometer (half a miles) from the Vilnius airport, adding: “The cause of the accident is still unknown and an investigation is already underway.” Swiftair did not comment.

“Residential infrastructure around the house was on fire, and the house was slightly damaged, but we managed to evacuate people," said Renatas Požėla, chief of the Fire and Rescue Department.

One eyewitness, who gave her name only as Svaja, ran to a window when a light as bright as a red sun filled her room and she heard an explosion, followed by flashes and black smoke.

“I saw a fireball,” she said. “My first thought is that a world (war) has begun and it’s time to grab the documents and run somewhere to a shelter, to a basement.”

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, the Lithuanian defense minister, said “there were definitely no external factors that could have damaged the plane.”

“We can clearly see that,” Kasčiūnas said. "However, to find out what happened inside the plane, it will be necessary to interview the surviving crew members. And of course, the black box. That will take some time.”

Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24, analyzed by the AP, showed the aircraft made a turn to the north of the airport, lining up for landing, before crashing a little more than 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) short of the runway.

Weather at the airport was around freezing at the time of the crash, with clouds before sunrise and winds around 30 kph (18 mph).

The Boeing 737 was 31 years old, which is considered by experts to be an older airframe, though that’s not unusual for cargo flights.

The prime minister cautioned against speculation, saying investigators needed time to do their job.

“The responsible agencies are working diligently,” Šimonytė said. “I urge everyone to have confidence in the investigating authorities’ ability to conduct a thorough and professional investigation within an optimal timeframe. Only these investigations will uncover the true causes of the incident — speculation and guesswork will not help establish the truth.”

This story corrects the title of Renatas Požėla.

Gera reported from Warsaw, Poland, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed.

In this photo taken from video, made available on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, a DHL cargo plane chrashes near Vilnius, Lithuania (Teltonika company via AP)

In this photo taken from video, made available on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, a DHL cargo plane chrashes near Vilnius, Lithuania (Teltonika company via AP)

In this photo taken from video, made available on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, a DHL cargo plane chrashes near Vilnius, Lithuania (Teltonika company via AP)

A view of the wreckage of the DHL cargo plane that crashed into a house near Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian emergency personnel prepare to work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian emergency personnel work by parts of the wreckage of a DHL cargo plane which crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A piece of debris from a DHL cargo plane which crashed into a house is seen near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian police investigators work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees and police officers stand near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Police guard an area near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A smoke rises from the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

TMRW Sports’ indoor golf league is going to feature teams from the LPGA Tour starting next season.

The entertainment group and the LPGA announced the addition Tuesday of the WTGL, which will be run separately from the TGL while looking every bit like the tech-infused indoor league. Matches will be played at the SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Key details still to be worked out include how many four-player teams will be part of the inaugural WTGL season.

TGL has six teams, with a seventh team (Detroit) to be added for its third season in 2026-27. The WTGL also is still forming ownership groups, making it too soon to announce the size of the inaugural season or which cities they will represent.

Commissioner Craig Kessler has leaned into four pillars — trust, visibility, growing fans and securing financial stability — since taking over the LPGA in July.

“We view our partnership with TGL exciting on two of those — growing fans and visibility,” Kessler said in a telephone interview. “Any chance we get to put our women on center stage, competing and showing their personalities, will only attract more people to follow.”

Kessler said there had been discussions to add women to the indoor league before he was appointed commissioner, and those talks accelerated over the last couple of months.

The WTGL would be played primarily during the LPGA’s offseason, and there’s a chance it could overlap with TGL. The LPGA season ends a week before Thanksgiving in November and starts at the end of January. For 2026, the first Asian swing is in the middle of February.

The TGL ends ahead of the first major at the Masters in April.

TMRW Sports said TGL in its inaugural season drew the second-youngest audience in sports behind the NBA in median age (52) and percentage of audience in the 18-49 age group (41%). TGL began its second season in late December and has its third match on Tuesday night.

“WTGL is another step in creating a modern, media-focused version of a centuries-old game that appeals to today’s sports fan,” TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley said in a statement.

McCarley said a women’s league has been in the works since the TGL launch last year and “now, along with the LPGA and its athletes, we look forward to creating a stage to help showcase the stars of the LPGA.”

Kessler believes the format will helps create a stronger connection with fans while putting his players in a new light. The matches are two hours, the audience can hear conversations and there is more attention on six players — three per teams — instead of getting only glimpses of them during a full-field event over four days.

“What makes this unique is we talk about building stars, and this is a chance to go deeper than ever on those personalities,” Kessler said.

Rory McIlroy, once a publicly fierce critic of LIV, has been preaching since last February his opinion that LIV players should be able to return.

That goes for Brooks Koepka, and not just on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy was asked if he’d like to see Koepka as part of the TGL indoor league now that the five-time major champion has left LIV.

“I would say that’s up to people that are more powerful and more important than me,” McIlroy said after his Boston team won a TGL match on Friday. “But I am one of the founders. I would love him to play. If there’s space on a team for Brooks to come and play, it only makes what we’re trying to do stronger.

“If he decides it’s something that he wants to do, I’m sure we’ll find a way to include him.”

He also was in favor of Koepka returning to the PGA Tour while speaking on the “Stick to Football” podcast last week. But unlike his comment at Torrey Pines last February, the Masters champion acknowledged he’s in a different stage in his career than other PGA Tour members.

“They’ve made the money, but they’ve paid their consequence in terms of the reputation and some of the things they’ve lost by going over there,” McIlroy said of LIV defectors. “If it made the overall tour stronger to have Bryson DeChambeau back and whoever else, I would be OK with it.

“But again, it’s not just me, and I recognize that not everyone is in my position,” he said. “It would be up to the collective group of PGA Tour members to make that decision.”

Matt Kuchar spent more than a month researching his best option and concluded he would not be using a one-time exemption for being in the top 25 on the PGA Tour career money list.

Kuchar, 47, finished at No. 118 in the FedEx Cup in the first year the tour reduced full cards to the top 100 (instead of 125). Even with rising purses, he was in no danger of falling out of the top 25 in career money this year.

Kuchar is at No. 13 with $61,538,738, which is just over $18 million more than Tommy Fleetwood at No. 26 in career money. He has conditional status at No. 118, though he will be subject to being reshuffled in his category of Nos. 111 through 125.

He figures he can get into somewhere around 18 to 20 tournaments, that using his one-time exemption would only be the difference of four or more events. If necessary, he could use one of his career money exemption the year he turns 49 and the other when he turns 50.

The tour said one player signed up for a career-money exemption — Vijay Singh, who turns 63 in February. As a testament to his career, Singh still is No. 6 on the career money list even though he has not played a full schedule since 2020.

How much he plays remains to be seen. Except for the Masters, the big Fijian has not played a PGA Tour events since the 2021 Honda Classic. He is an early commitment for the Sony Open, a week before the PGA Tour Champions starts on the Big Island.

Former Masters champion Trevor Immelman felt as though he had already played Augusta National before he ever got there for the first time.

Immelman, now the lead CBS Sports analyst, was 6 when he watched Jack Nicklaus win the 1986 Masters, and that got him hooked. The time change in South Africa allowed him to stay up at night and watch PGA Tour events. His family would record them and Immelman said he would watch them over and over.

And then the World Cup of Golf came to his home club of Somerset West near Cape Town in 1996, and the Immelman family hosted a former Masters champion.

“Ian Woosnam stayed at our house,” he said. “I’ve been able to watch Woosie win a dozen times. Now he’s sitting in my living room, watching together. He was taking me through everything going on in his mind, how difficult the shots were and that last putt on 18, when he had to make that 4- or 5-footer, telling me how nervous he was.”

Immelman made his Masters debut three years later as the U.S. Public Links Amateur champion.

“To get those experiences, by the time I got there in ’99 I was able to somewhat understand the golf course and how to play it,” he said. “I made the cut as an amateur, which was my dream.”

Dustin Johnson goes into 2026 exempt only for the Masters and the U.S. Open. This is the last year of his 10-year U.S. Open exemption from winning at Oakmont in 2016. ... With the cancellation of The Sentry at Kapalua, the only tournament in golf recognized by the Official World Golf Ranking this week is the Webex Players Series Perth in Australia, with siblings Minjee and Min Woo Lee as tournament hosts. They are not competing. ... Xander Schauffele’s cut streak of 72 tournaments, the longest active streak on the PGA Tour, include 25 tournaments without a cut.

South America and South Africa are the only continents that do not have any players among the top 50 in the world ranking going into the new year.

“It's not like we sit back and say, ‘Well, never saw that coming.’ Who said 82 (PGA Tour wins)? But we saw it coming.” — Davis Love III on the career of Tiger Woods.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

FILE - Brooks Koepka, of the United States, acknowledges the crowd on the 5th green during the first round of the British Open golf championship at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

FILE - The SoFi Center is seen ahead of the inaugural match of the TMRW Golf League, between New York Golf Club and The Bay Golf Club, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)