The world on Tuesday, June 11, received the sad news of the passing on of Malawi Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima in a plane crash.
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera made the announcement following a search and rescue operation for the aircraft that had earlier been reported missing, confirming that all occupants of the plane carrying them were found dead.
Chakwera announced that the wreckage of the ill-fated plane was discovered following a search mission involving the country’s military personnel.
The plane involved in the disappearance of Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima, and nine others is a Malawi Defense Forces aircraft that was scheduled to make its landing at the Mzuzu International Airport at 10:02 on June 10.
It had departed Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, at 09:17 local time.
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According to Simple Flying, Malawi Army Air Wing has two active Dornier Do228-200s (registrations MAAW-T03 and MAAW-T04) in its fleet.
The newer aircraft, MAAW-T04 was delivered in March 1990 while the older aircraft, MAAW-T03, had been delivered in June 1988.
Details of the Aircraft Carrying Malawi VP Chilima
According to Malawi’s Head of State, the VP Chilima was flying on MAAW-T03, a Dornier Do228 which took its ever first flight in December 1987 before it was delivered to the Malawi Army’s Air Wing six months later.
The Dornier 228 aircraft in question was acquired from Germany over three decades ago and has been primarily used for transport by the Malawi Defense Forces (MDF).
In terms of specifications, the Dornier 228 aircraft that was carrying the Malawi VP is a twin-turboprop Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) utility aircraft.
This particular model was designed and built by German Company Dornier GmbH which later became part of FAIRCHILD Dornier and DASA-Dornier.
The Dornier 228 which has a capacity of 19 passengers and 2 crew members is powered by 2 main Engines and 5 turboprop engines.
In addition, it can climax at Maximum Speeds of 428 km/h (266 mph) and a Range: 1,111 km (690 miles).
The 19-seater aircraft on the other hand has a Service Ceiling of 8,534 m (28,000 ft) and carry a maximum cargo capacity of 2,100 kg (4,630 lb).
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Other specifications include a wingspan of 16.97 m (55 ft 8 in), Length of 16.56 m (54 ft 4 in) and a Height: 4.86 m (15 ft 11 in).
Dornier Accident
According to Skybrary, the most recent accident involving a Dornier 228-200 was back in September 2012, where an aircraft operated by Sita Air in Nepal on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from the capital Kathmandu to Lukla failed to sustain its initial climb after take-off.
The aircraft having reached a maximum height entered a stall from which recovery was not achieved before ground impact and subsequent fire which led to the deaths of all 19 occupants and the destruction of the aircraft.
Malawi’s VP Plane Disappears
Before the crashed plane was discovered, it was reported to have departed from the capital, Lilongwe but failed to land at its scheduled destination Mzuzu International Airport.
According to the President’s statement, the Malawi Defence Force aircraft went off the radar after it left the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning.
The plane was supposed to land at the Mzuzu International Airport, in the country’s north, just after 10:00 local time.
In a speech late on Monday, President Lazarus Chakwera announced that a search and rescue operation had since been launched.
President Chakwera confirmed that all occupants of the plane were found dead.
However, the reason behind the aircraft’s disappearance is not yet known.
VP Chilima was on his way to represent the government at the burial of former cabinet minister who died three days ago.
Following the disappearance of the plane, President Chakwera was forced to cancel his flight to the Bahamas, which was scheduled for Monday evening.
This incident comes in the wake of another aviation tragedy last month, where Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister perished in a helicopter crash.
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