By Deogratias Mmana:
The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) has said information regarding the aircraft crash that killed former vice president Saulos Chilima and eight others is intact.
They say after finishing analysing it, they will make the report public.
BFU says during the investigation of the wreckage, a Global Positioning System (GPS) was secured and later transported to the BFU.
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“In the recorder and avionics laboratory of the BFU, the data of the accident flight and other flights stored in the GPS could be read out. These will now be analysed very thoroughly. This will take some time,” reads the report on the BFU page www. bfu-web.de.
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BFU says it expects to publish an interim report in German and English presumably at the end of August this year.
According to them, the interim report will include the analysis of the facts, the conclusions, causes and possible safety recommendations in a final report later on.
The bureau says the investigation team, supported by experts of the Civil Aviation Administration of Malawi and the Malawi Armed Forces, conducted the investigations at the accident site, the aerodrome of departure and destination as well as the home base of the airplane.
The bureau has made it clear that the sole purpose of the investigation is accident prevention as its investigation reports and safety recommendations do not contain any statements of guilt, liability or claims.
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Commenting on the BFU statement, Executive Director of the Church and Society of the Blantyre Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Reverend Master Jumbe said Malawians are eager to know the truth about the crash.
“A lot is being said about the crash. Their report will help to settle the dust,” Jumbe said.
The German-made aircraft, Do228-202 (K), crashed in Chikangawa Forest on June 10 with Chilima and eight others, including former first lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, on board. They were on their way to Nkhata Bay to attend the burial of former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Ralph Kasambara.
We sought the comment of the government through Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu. He was not immediately available.
On June 20, 2024, Kunkuyu told a news conference that President Lazarus Chakwera had reached out to the international community to help with the investigations into the plane crash.
The Germans responded quickly and arrived in the country on June 22 for the investigation.
“As the President stated these independent investigations are aimed at determining the circumstances surrounding the plane crash and the probable causes of the crash,” Kunkuyu said then.
The team of the investigators comprised an expert from General Atomics, a company that has taken over the manufacturing of Donnier 228 and two other experts from the German Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigations.
