Malawi plane crash probe targets aviation oversight

Malawi’s parliament has opened athird formal investigationinto the June 2024 military aircraft crash thatkilled former vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others, renewing scrutiny of aviation oversight and unresolved questions left by two earlier probes. The parliamentary inquiry, announced last month, is the most expansive investigation yet into the disaster. Lawmakers say they will exhume the remains of all nine victims for post-mortem examinations, summon more than 150 witnesses and review aviation safety oversight, aircraft maintenance records and forensic evidence linked to the crash.

The scale of the inquiry reflects persistent doubts about whether earlier investigations fully explained the circumstances surrounding the accident. Parliamentary ad-hoc committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu Manda said the committee had completed the preparatory processes required before beginning its work. “The parliamentary ad hoc committee established to conduct a fresh inquiry into the Chikangawa plane crash has successfully concluded its preparatory work and is now ready to commence investigations,” he said.

On 10 June 2024, a Dornier 228-202(K) operated by the Malawi Defence Force departed the capital, Lilongwe, bound for the northern city of Mzuzu. The twin-engine turboprop, manufactured in 1987 and commonly used for government transport, was carrying Chilima and eight other passengers. The aircraft never reached its destination.

[paywall]

Itcrashed into rising terraininside the Chikangawa Forest Reserve in northern Malawi, killing everyone on board. Malawi requested technical assistance from Germany’s Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU), the authority responsible for investigating accidents involving German-manufactured aircraft. The BFU’s final report, published in October 2025, concluded that pilot error was the primary cause of the crash.

Investigators determined that the crew continued flying under visual flight rules despite encountering instrument meteorological conditions, where reduced visibility requires navigation using cockpit instruments. The aircraft ultimately struck terrain after the crew lost situational awareness. A separate Malawian government commission of inquiry reached similar conclusions, citing adverse weather and pilot judgement as the principal factors behind the accident. While the two investigations established a technical explanation for the crash, they left broader questions unresolved, particularly regarding aircraft equipment, maintenance standards and institutional oversight.

[/paywall]