Malawi's army implicated in death of Vice President: summary

What we know

• A German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) report has implicated the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) in the June 10, 2024, plane crash that killed Vice President Saulos Chilima and eight others.
• The Dornier 228-202(K) aircraft, operated by the MDF, crashed while returning to the capital, Lilongwe, after failing to land in the northern city of Mzuzu due to bad weather.
• The BFU’s final report, released on June 7, 2025, found the aircraft was “not airworthy” due to an expired airworthiness certification and unresolved mechanical failures flagged in maintenance records.
• The pilot was “not medically or psychologically fit to fly,” with prior internal assessments ignored by MDF leadership, according to the BFU report. The aircraft’s emergency locator transmitter (ELT) was non-functional, with a battery expired since 2004, due to a lack of spare parts and budget.
• The report also indicated that the absence of cockpit voice and flight data recorders hindered the investigation, and poor decision-making and inadequate flight planning in adverse weather conditions contributed to the crash.

What they said

An official with the Malawian Coalition for Aviation Reform, speaking anonymously, said, “This is not just about a faulty aircraft. This is about a failed system that allowed this to happen. If the investigations are true, then the blood of Vice President Saulos Chilima and the eight others is on the hands of those who chose to ignore the risks.” Shadreck Namalomba, Publicity Secretary of Malawi's main opposition, the Democratic Progressive Party, told Anadolu Agency, “The report doesn’t satisfy the curiosity of Malawians who want to know the truth. It’s very technical and falls short of quenching our hunger for truth.”