“The plane was slightly tilted; at one point it felt like we were going to tip over. But the aircraft quickly returned to its position,” Lithuanian media quoted Kazys Maksvytis, one of the passengers on the LOT Polish Airlines plane involved in today’s incident at the airport in Vilnius. The well-known Lithuanian basketball coach was on board the Embraer and experienced moments of real fear.
A dangerous incident occurred today in the Lithuanian capital. An Embraer E170STD belonging to LOT Polish Airlines arrived in Vilnius from Warsaw’s Chopin Airport and veered off the runway upon landing. According to the LOT spokesperson, there were 63 passengers on board; all of them safely left the aircraft.
Incident in Vilnius: Details of What Happened
“At 1:43 p.m. today at the Vilnius airport, a LOT aircraft arriving from Warsaw, flight number LO771, veered off the runway while taxiing toward the apron,” said Tadas Vasiliauskas, a representative of Lithuanian Airports.
“None of the passengers were injured; the circumstances of the incident are being investigated,” reads the statement from Lithuanian Airports, cited by the BNS agency.
BNS reports that shortly after the incident, the Lithuanian Airports Emergency Situations Commission convened a meeting with the participation of Transport Minister Juras Taminskas, representatives of the Ministry of Justice, and top management of Lithuanian Airports.
According to LOT spokesperson Krzysztof Moczulski, the aircraft operating flight LO771 from Warsaw to Vilnius “left the hardened surface of the taxiway” during the final phase of rollout. He confirmed that after landing, all passengers safely disembarked via mobile stairs and were transported to the terminal. The return flight from Vilnius to Warsaw was cancelled. “LOT technical services, in cooperation with airport operations staff in Vilnius, are currently assessing the situation,” the spokesperson added.
A Renowned Basketball Coach on Board: “It Felt Like We Were Going to Tip Over”
Among the passengers was basketball coach Kazys Maksvytis, currently an assistant coach with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe.
“We landed fine,” he told LRT. “There was a lot of snow all around, and the runway was also heavily covered. During the turn, when our speed had already decreased, we simply slid off the runway. The plane was slightly tilted, and at one moment it felt like we were going to tip over. But the aircraft quickly returned to its place,” he added.
The passenger also praised the crew for their efficient response. “We thought it would take some time. But everything happened quite quickly,” he noted.