Malawi: MET Chief Reveals No Weather Forecaster Was Deployed for Fatal Chikangawa VVIP Flight

What the report says

Malawi’s parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Chikangawa plane crash heard evidence from the head of the country’s meteorological service, Lucy Mtilatila, about weather support for a June 10, 2024 VVIP flight linked to the incident. According to the report, Mtilatila said her department was not told in advance that the flight to Mzuzu was taking place, so no aviation forecaster was deployed to the destination to assist ground operations.

The article says Mtilatila also told lawmakers that the forecaster at Kamuzu International Airport did not pass weather information to the crew because the crew never requested it. She described standard practice as sending a dedicated aviation meteorological forecaster ahead of a VVIP flight to both the departure and arrival airports to brief the crew and support operations.

Committee chair Walter Nyamilandu Manda questioned why weather information had not been provided en route, and Mtilatila repeated that the department lacked prior notice and therefore could not prepare a briefing or report. The issue matters because it raises questions about coordination and communication in aviation safety, especially for high-level state or VIP movements where weather planning is normally expected. In general, aviation weather support is a routine part of flight operations, but the report presents this as a specific procedural breakdown tied to the crash inquiry.