By Edwin Mauluka

The airport where the plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President was expected to land was reportedly not licensed to receive aircraft at the time of the fatal June 10, 2024 crash that killed Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others.

Aviation officials disclosed this to the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee conducting a renewed inquiry into the crash.

The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) aircraft had departed from Kamuzu International Airport en route to Mzuzu Airport. Chilima was scheduled to proceed to the funeral of former Attorney General Ralph Kasambara in Nkhata Bay.

It remains unclear what impact the revelation about the airport’s licensing status could have on the investigation.

On Tuesday, the committee visited the crash site at Nthungwa in the Chikangawa Forest as well as Mzuzu Airport as part of its preliminary inquiry.

Committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu said the visit to Nthungwa was intended to familiarise members with the terrain, how the wreckage was located, and the handling of victims’ bodies after the crash.

“Without that information, it would have been very difficult for us to ask the right questions. So we’re pretty much here on an orientation exercise before we go into questioning witnesses. This is part of our preliminary investigations,” Nyamilandu said after touring the site.

Nyamilandu said the committee now had a clearer appreciation of the roles played by the Malawi Police Service, the Malawi Defence Force, the Department of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Health, the Malawi Red Cross Society and other agencies involved in the search and rescue operation.

“It wasn’t easy. That’s what is very clear from the outset,” he said, adding that the terrain had changed significantly since the crash occurred.

A military officer who took part in the search operation told the committee that the wreckage location was identified after a tip-off from people believed to be illegal timber loggers operating in the forest.

A police officer also told the committee that search teams discovered the remains of the aircraft between 9am and 10am on June 11, 2024, a day after the plane departed from Kamuzu International Airport.

After visiting Nthungwa, the 13-member committee proceeded to Mzuzu Airport, where the aircraft had been scheduled to land.

Nyamilandu said the next phase of the inquiry would involve questioning potential witnesses before moving to forensic investigations, including autopsies.

The committee is also expected to visit Zomba Air Base to physically inspect the wreckage of the MDF Dornier 228 aircraft.

The inquiry began on Monday with a visit to Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe. The committee is expected to present its findings before the end of August this year.

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Photo above: Dornier 228 aircraft

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