By Burnett Munthali
A former senior meteorological officer at Mzuzu Airport has told Malawi’s Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee investigating the 2024 Chikangawa plane crash that the aircraft carrying Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others could have landed safely at the airport despite the weather conditions recorded that morning.
According to local media reports, Olive Chavunguma, who was officer-in-charge of the Mzuzu Climate Change and Meteorological Station when the crash occurred, told the committee that the station recorded visibility of about eight kilometres at Mzuzu Airport on June 10, 2024.
Chavunguma said conditions at the airport were generally overcast, with drizzle and fog in the vicinity, but visibility improved later in the day. Drawing on her 35 years of aviation experience, she said the aircraft had previously operated and landed under similar conditions.
She told the committee that if there were weather-related limitations on the flight, they were more likely to have occurred along the route because the aircraft ultimately crashed in the Chikangawa area.
However, Chavunguma cautioned lawmakers against using weather data recorded at Mzuzu Airport as a direct measure of conditions at the crash site in the Viphya Plantation.
She explained that weather conditions can vary between locations because of differences in elevation, terrain, cloud formation, wind and other atmospheric factors.
Chavunguma also said she could not confirm that adverse weather caused the crash or establish whether the pilots encountered extremely low visibility in Chikangawa.
Responding to questions from MPs, she said the eight-kilometre visibility recorded at Mzuzu Airport was sufficient for a pilot to see and land at the airport.
She explained that the weather station would issue a special report to air traffic control if visibility improved beyond 10 kilometres or deteriorated to five kilometres or below.
Committee vice-chairperson James Mpunga questioned the eight-kilometre reading after referring to a German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) report that indicated visibility of less than eight kilometres.
Chavunguma maintained that the station had recorded eight kilometres and said any reduction in visibility around 10am was insignificant.
The witness also confirmed that the aircraft had previously landed at Mzuzu Airport under similar or worse weather conditions, although flights could be delayed when visibility deteriorated further.
She could not confirm whether the pilots operating the aircraft on June 10 had previously landed under comparable conditions because her office was located away from where the aircraft was stationed.
The testimony has introduced another perspective into the continuing investigation into the crash, which killed Chilima and eight others.
The BFU’s final report attributed the accident to a collision with terrain following adverse weather. It also stated that the flight crew operated in adverse weather conditions and that Malawi’s Department of Meteorological Services had not provided meteorological information for the planned route, contrary to International Civil Aviation Organisation standards.
Chavunguma said she had not seen BFU investigators visit the Mzuzu weather station to obtain the June 10, 2024 records. She confirmed, however, that a commission of inquiry established by former President Lazarus Chakwera visited Mzuzu Airport and inspected weather-monitoring equipment.
President Peter Mutharika ordered a fresh inquiry into the crash in January after Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Charles Mhango identified gaps in the BFU report and the earlier commission of inquiry.
The parliamentary committee is continuing to examine evidence as it seeks to establish the circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s final flight and the events that led to the fatal crash.
