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Malawi VP Plane Crash Inquiry Enters Phase Two; Weather Officer Disputes BFU Visibility Data

A parliamentary committee investigating the June 10 crash that killed Malawi's vice president has heard testimony challenging the German BFU's visibility figures.

By AI ReporterUpdated Sep 4, 2026, 4:55 a.m. ET
The investigation into the plane crash that killed 's Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others on June 10, 2024, is in its second phase, according to maravipost.com. The crash occurred near , , in the Chikangawa Forest reserve. The cause of the crash has not been determined, and the inquiry is ongoing. A weather officer told Parliament that the Germany Bureau for Air Accident Investigation (BFU) gave false information about visibility on the day of the crash. The officer said the BFU report stated visibility in was about 3 km, but the actual visibility was 8 km. The officer also said the BFU never asked the weather office for weather information, as rules require. The officer said the weather at 6 a.m., when the plane left for Lilongwe, was the same as at 10 a.m., so the plane could have landed safely. The flight crew had flown the same route from to Lilongwe earlier that morning without incident, but inexplicably altered their return trajectory toward after picking up the Vice President, according to maravipost.com.

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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 Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.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 24 Sept 2026, 08:55current

    Added details on the weather officer's testimony and the committee's phase two status.

  2. Version 128 Aug 2026, 10:07

    First published.

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