Findings of a commission of inquiry into the plane crash that killed vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others have ruled out foul play, attributing the accident to bad weather and other human factors.
The commission, led by its chairperson Justice Jabbar Alide, presented the findings in Lilongwe on Saturday.
Reading the report, Alide said there was no evidence of technical fault of the plane, adding that the aircraft was in good condition and had only attained 3 000 hours of flying at the time of the accident.
He said: “From the evidence we gathered, there is no proof of technical factors. However, the commission is aware of technical investigation being conducted by the BFU [the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation] from which we have not received any findings, be it partial or otherwise.”
BFU’s final report is expected next year, probably in August.
Alide said deaths of passengers aboard the flight was by high impact velocity injuries.
“There is no evidence of homicide and animal bites before or after the accident. All members possibly died instantly as it was also established that one of the members was still holding a personal item which points to the fact that death was instant,” he said.
Alide added that no one would have survived the crash.
The commission also raised eyebrows on the procurement of the aircraft from the Airforce of the Malawi Defence Force, noting that procedure had changed over time.
Initially, according to the report, request for the plane was supposed to be in writing from the Office of President and Cabinet which was not the case but it had adopted a “hybrid approach”.
According to Alide, the commission was informed there was a memorandum that effected the change but it was not availed to the commission, saying, “However, in the absence of evidence of the same, it is not clear how true that is. The office of the Vice-President did not also complete the request. The process was only going to be in retrospect later, to be done in formality.”
The commission also found out that certifications of the flight crew Colonel Sambalopa and Major Flora Selemani were not up to date.
The commission also established that the flight crew did not obtain a weather report on the day and route they were going to fly prior to their flying.
This is pointing to another human error which may have led the plane into a potentially risky route.
Among others, the commission has since recommended the OPC to develop clear guidelines about the manner of procuring airplanes from the military and to ensure that they are strictly followed.
It has also recommended that the government should ensure that VIP persons travel in safe and sound aircraft, adding that, “MDF needs to upgrade the equipment in line with needs. Military needs modern equipment in large numbers.”
According to the commission’s report recommendations, the government must immediately release resources to ensure immediate service of equipment that requires servicing and also to ensure that crew undergoes regular training.
On the part of the police, the report has recommended that they should fully be equipped with aerial, ground and marine equipment and appropriate search and rescue equipment.
There should also be forensic, photographic and other relevant specialists.
Contrary to government pronouncements that it never abandoned the search and rescue mission, the commission has shown that search and rescue was suspended by the police.
According to the chairperson of the commission, the police cited lack of proper protective gear for the search and rescue team as well as appropriate equipment for the search.
