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Malawi Parliament Hears Testimony in Crash That Killed Former Vice-President Chilima

A parliamentary inquiry is investigating the June 2024 crash of a Malawi Defence Force Dornier aircraft that killed former vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Sep 5, 2026, 3:23 a.m. ETUpdated Sep 5, 2026, 5:52 p.m. ET
A parliamentary inquiry is investigating the crash of a aircraft that killed former vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others, according to mwnation.com and nyasatimes.com. The aircraft crashed in Chikangawa Forest, also referred to as Nthungwa Forest, near , . Reports differ on the date: mwnation.com reported June 10, 2024, while nyasatimes.com reported June 1, 2024. Recovered flight data shows the aircraft initially climbed to 7,000 feet, then rose to about 8,600 feet before descending sharply to 5,500 feet, mwnation.com reported. The crash occurred during the phase of flight. The cause has not been determined. According to mwnation.com, airport security procedures were not fully followed before Chilima boarded the aircraft at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA). Another aircraft was in the vicinity of the MDF as it travelled towards on the day of the crash. The parliamentary ad hoc committee heard testimony from retired Major General Robray Ishmael and Assistant Commissioner of Police Alex Simenti, and plans to approach Dodma to establish the mystery aircraft's mission, nyasatimes.com reported.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
4,157 ft
Nearest aerodrome
1.3 miles SSE of Mzuzu Airport (FWUU/ZZU)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 25 Sept 2026, 21:52current

    Added date conflict, investigation details, and clarified attribution.

  2. Version 15 Sept 2026, 08:21

    First published.

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