Lithuanian prosecutors said on Wednesday they believed pilot error was to blame for last year's deadly DHL cargo plane crash in Vilnius and called for the surviving pilot to be charged.

The plane coming from the German city of Leipzig crashed near Vilnius Airport in November, raising questions over whether the tragedy could be connected to a recent series of sabotage cases.

The crash killed one Spanish pilot and injured the three other crew members: a German, a Lithuanian and another Spanish pilot, who is currently receiving treatment in Spain.

The Lithuanian prosecutor's office said it had asked Spanish authorities to "charge the pilot of the aircraft and to question him".

"The crash... is believed, on the basis of the currently available evidence, to have been caused by human error," it added in a press release.

Prosecutors said that evidence suggests the accident may have resulted from the deactivation of the hydraulic system responsible for deploying the wing flaps.

Other potential causes have been ruled out based on data obtained during the investigation, they added.

The plane crashed about one kilometre from the airport, hitting buildings as it skidded several hundred metres.

Prosecutors said 16 people whose homes were burnt down afterwards were officially recognised as victims.

Germany had initially raised the possibility of outside involvement in the disaster, arguing that it could have been "another hybrid incident".

The term "hybrid" is commonly used to describe attacks that do not use conventional military tactics, such as sabotaging infrastructure or launching cyberattacks.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European countries have often used the term to describe actions against them that they believe originate from Moscow.
Lithuanian officials had in the weeks preceding the crash probed alleged acts of incendiary devices being planted on cargo planes.