The Commission of Inquiry, which President Lazarus Chakwera instituted to investigate the plane crash that killed vice president Saulos Chilima and eight other citizens on June 10 this year, has completed its task.
The Commission has announced it will present the report today. In a statement, signed by Chairperson Justice Jabber Alide, the commission sa ys Chakwera has directed it to present the report to the nation.
Presidential Press Secretary Anthony Kasunda said Chakwera had constituted the inquiry on behalf of Malawians, hence his instruction for the Commission to read the report out to them. He said the Commission had booked an appointment with the President to submit the report to him.
“However, the President has directed that the report first be read out to the public before it is formally submitted to him because he commissioned the inquiry on behalf of Malawians and [it is] in fulfilment of his promise to them to make the report public,” Kasunda said.
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The 18-member commission was given up to December 14 to complete the assignment.
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Chakwera instituted the commission in October this year.
The inquiry came into existence two months after the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) released an interim report on the plane crash. In the report, the BFU highlighted some safety concerns of the MDF plane.
It revealed for example that the airplane was not equipped with a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) or a Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which could have provided crucial information about the crash.
The plane, according to the report, clipped a tree with its wing, causing significant damage and loss of control, before crashing into the slope of a hill.
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“The aircraft’s impact with the tree was a critical factor in the crash, as it led to a loss of lif t and control, resulting in a fatal descent into the hillside,” it said.
The site of the crash was about 2 km east of M1 road and about 700m south of a village in Chikangawa Forest, according to BFU report.
The BFU recommended that all aircraft operating in Malawi be equipped with CVRs and FDRs to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Additionally, BF highlighted the need for improved weather reporting and forecasting, as weather was found to have been a factor that played a part in the crash. BFU is expected to release a more comprehensive mid next year.
The plane crashed while Chilima and the other eigh t, which included former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri, were travelling to the funeral of former Attorney General, Ralph Kasambara.
The others that died were Lukas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, Dan Kanyemba, Abdul Lapukeni and flight operators Colonel Owen Sambalopa, Major Flora Selemani and Major Aidin from MDF.
