Plane crash-lands in Lilongwe

Two unidentified people on Tuesday escaped unhurt when an airplane they were flying crash-landed almost 20-kilometres from Mitundu Trading Centre in the capital, Lilongwe towards Dzalanyama Forest Reserve just minutes before it could land at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA).

The owners of the flight could not be immediately identified as the country’s Civil Aviation officials were said to be at the scene on a fact-gathering mission.

In an interview, deputy national police spokesperson Kelvin Maigwa said the plane was coming from South Africa to Lilongwe, but had a stop-over in Mozambique and crashed before it could make it to KIA.

“The plane had two passengers on board and both survived the crash.

“Meanwhile, the cause of the accident is not yet known, but Civil Aviation officers are at the scene of the accident,” he said.

Both director of Civil Aviation Alfred Mtilatila and his deputy Alfred Matiya were not available to give details of the accident as Mtilatila was reported outside the country while Matiya’s mobile phone could not be answered.

However, one of the officers at the Civil Aviation, who spoke on condition of anonymity said the plane, a two-seater and double-engine Piper 38, seems to have developed an engine fault along the Dzalanyama Range.

“The plane had started off from Tete and was going to KIA.

“It reported an engine failure just once before it disappeared,” said the official.