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Malawi parliamentary inquiry into Chilima plane crash hears conflicting testimony

An ad-hoc committee is investigating the June 10, 2024 crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 28, 2026, 6:45 a.m. ETUpdated Sep 3, 2026, 5:22 a.m. ET
A parliamentary ad-hoc committee in is investigating the June 10, 2024, plane crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others, according to nyasatimes.com and maravipost.com. The crash occurred during or near or , , according to conflicting reports from nyasatimes.com. The cause has not been determined, with sources disagreeing: nyasatimes.com reports both that the investigation is open and that it is . The inquiry has heard conflicting testimony about weather conditions. A former weather station chief testified that visibility at Airport was eight kilometres, sufficient for landing. However, a report by Germany's Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) alleged that 's Department of Meteorological Services failed to provide meteorological information for the flight route, according to nyasatimes.com. The pilot reported being 20 nautical miles north of at , but the BFU interim report indicates the aircraft never reached that position. The flight was scheduled to land at 10.02am, and air traffic personnel began attempting to reach the crew from 9.50am without success. Weather conditions deteriorated with visual clearance dropping to around five kilometres by the time the aircraft was due to arrive. President Peter Mutharika ordered a fresh inquiry after gaps were identified in previous reports, nyasatimes.com reported. The parliamentary inquiry is hearing testimony, and the BFU has issued an interim report.

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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 Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.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 43 Sept 2026, 09:22current

    No substantive changes; updated to reflect current source set.

  2. Version 331 Aug 2026, 00:52

    Updated to reflect conflicting reports on phase of flight and location, and clarified the cause status as conflicting.

  3. Version 228 Aug 2026, 11:22

    Corrected cause status to reflect conflict, added location conflict, and clarified investigation status.

  4. Version 128 Aug 2026, 01:55

    First published.

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