‘My theory is incapacitation’: new twists in the hunt for answers over Chilima’s death
The parliamentary inquiry into the June 2024 plane crash that killed Malawi’s vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others took two intriguing turns this week, as investigators heard competing theories about what brought down the Malawi Defence Force Dornier aircraft in Chikangawa Forest.
The incapacitation theory
Retired Major General Robray Ishmael, a former air force commander with 40 years’ flying experience, told the ad hoc committee that changes in altitude, deviations from the expected route and erratic manoeuvres during the flight point towards possible crew incapacitation or disorientation.
Flight data shows the aircraft climbed to 7,000 feet, rose further to 8,600 feet, then dropped sharply to 5,500 feet – a descent Ishmael likened to a dive.
He questioned why the Dornier was flying so low at all, given the aircraft was capable of cruising considerably higher, and suggested reduced altitude may have hampered communication and radar detection.
Ishmael was careful to stress his theory remains just that – unconfirmed and based purely on his own reading of the available flight data.
He also flagged concerns about the adequacy of routine aviation medical checks, noting that standard tests for hearing, eyesight, blood pressure and blood sugar may not catch conditions capable of triggering sudden incapacitation.
Security lapses at the airport
The same hearing exposed troubling gaps in VVIP security on the day of the crash. Assistant Commissioner of Police Alex Simenti admitted that members of Chilima’s entourage were never screened before boarding, having gone straight to the apron through the VVIP gate rather than the VVIP lounge.
“The entourage of the Vice-President was not searched,” Simenti told the committee, explaining that Chilima had already begun boarding by the time his team arrived, leaving no opportunity to run them through metal detectors or X-ray machines.
CCTV footage submitted by Simenti only compounded the unease – committee members noted the coverage failed to capture the airport’s approach roads or terminal interior, leaving crucial gaps in the security picture.
Simenti also used the session to highlight chronic underfunding, a porous perimeter and inadequate VVIP facilities at Kamuzu International Airport, calling for greater government investment.
A mystery aircraft in the sky
Meanwhile, a separate session heard a new theory altogether: that another aircraft may have been flying near the MDF Dornier at the time of the crash.
Senior air traffic controller Henry Magombo confirmed an American-registered aircraft had flown from and returned to Kamuzu International Airport on the day of the crash, though he stressed the two planes were operating at different altitudes.
The claim follows an observation by Mwanza Central MP Felix Njawala, who says FlightRadar24 data shows the mystery aircraft’s path running almost parallel to the Dornier’s – a plane that, he noted, had not featured in any previous account of the tragedy.
Magombo said records show the unidentified aircraft was in Malawi between May and August 2024, reportedly carrying out consultancy work linked to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), including natural disaster research. Committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu said the panel would now approach Dodma directly to establish the aircraft’s precise mission and movements on the day Chilima died.
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