Malawi: Inquiry Hears of Gaps in Tracking Chilima Fatal Plane's Final Movements

What the report says

A parliamentary inquiry in Malawi has heard evidence pointing to a gap between the last position reported by the pilot of the military aircraft that crashed near Chikangawa and the flight path later shown in a German aviation investigation’s interim report. The crash, in June 2024, killed former vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others. The testimony was reported by Nyasa Times and distributed by AllAfrica.

At the committee hearing, Joseph Moyo, a senior air traffic information officer at Mzuzu Airport, described the aircraft as briefly contacting controllers at 10:12 a.m. and reporting it was about 20 nautical miles north of Mzuzu and inbound. Lawmakers questioned how that account lined up with the interim findings from Germany’s Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, which reportedly suggest the aircraft never reached that stated position before impact. Moyo said controllers in non-radar airspace depend on pilot reports and cannot independently verify location in the same way they could within radar coverage.

Moyo also outlined worsening weather and communication problems before the crash, including cloud, drizzle and fog, and said the scheduled landing time had been 10:02 a.m. He said controllers tried to reach the crew before and after the brief contact, then activated emergency procedures when communication failed. He also said checks with Lilongwe and Karonga airports did not locate the aircraft. The hearing adds detail to the wider official inquiry into the circumstances of the fatal accident.