Pilots, weather experts and eyewitnesses set to testify as inquiry into Chilima plane crash enters crucial new phase

The Parliamentary Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the Chikangawa plane crash that killed former Vice President Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima is set to resume its probe next week, with a new phase of witness examinations focused squarely on the events of the fatal flight itself.

The crash, which occurred on 10 June 2024, claimed the lives of Chilima and eight other people. Parliament confirmed that Phase Two of the inquiry’s witness hearings will run from Monday, 24 August to Friday, 11 September 2026, following a comprehensive review of the first phase of the investigation.

Unlike the initial phase, this next stage of the inquiry will zero in specifically on what happened on the actual day of the flight that ended in tragedy in Chikangawa.

According to a media advisory issued by Parliament, the committee has invited a wide range of witnesses to give testimony, including airport officials responsible for flight planning, meteorology and fuelling, weather experts, pilots with prior experience flying the aircraft involved, and community eyewitnesses from around Nthungwa Forest, close to the crash site.

The committee said any other individuals deemed relevant to the inquiry may also be called to testify.

The public and media have been assured that proceedings will remain open, unless the committee resolves to hold certain hearings in camera in line with parliamentary Standing Orders.

The advisory was signed off by Walter Nyamilandu Manda, MP, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Ad-Hoc Committee on the Chikangawa Plane Crash Inquiry, and dated 21 August 2026.

The renewed hearings will be closely watched by Malawians still seeking answers more than two years after the crash that shook the nation and claimed the life of one of its most prominent political figures.