No weather briefing for crashed plane—Witness

Parliament’s Ad-hoc Committee investigating the June 10 2024 military plane crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others yesterday learnt that the aircraft took off without a weather information briefing.

Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services director Lucy Mtilatila told the committee at Parliament Building in Lilongwe yesterday that her department was not informed of the VVIP flight to Mzuzu and, as a result, did not deploy a forecaster to Mzuzu to support ground operations.

She also said that the forecaster at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) did not provide weather information to the flight crew because the information was not requested.

Mtilatila said when her department is informed of a VVIP flight, it deploys a dedicated aviation meteorological forecaster in advance to both the airport of origin and destination to brief the crew and support ground operations.

“If we knew about this flight in advance we would have deployed an aviation meteorological forecaster from KIA to Mzuzu to support the operations on the ground,” she said.

The wreckage of the plane at the carsh site.

| Nation

Mtilatila recommended mandatory notification of VVIP flights, with a clear written protocol specifying the officer responsible for notification, the minimum notice required and consequences for non-compliance.

She also proposed a pre-departure checklist making weather briefing an explicit condition for flight clearance.

Committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu Manda asked why the department did not provide en-route weather information.

He said the records available to the committee covered Lilongwe and Mzuzu while the German investigators’s report indicated that the Meteorological Department did not provide en-route weather information.

In response, Mtilatila maintained that because her department was unaware of the VVIP flight, it was difficult to prepare any report or briefing.

Mwanza Central legislator Felix Njawala (UTM Party) asked who was supposed to inform the department about the flight.

Mtilatila responded that she was not sure who was responsible for the June 10 2024 flight because there were no established protocols. She said the department usually receives information about such flights from the Department of Civil Aviation, after which it prepares the weather report.

Lilongwe Mude member of Parliament (MP) Mphatso Boti (Malawi Congress Party-MCP) said the committee was particularly interested in en-route weather and questioned whether the Meteorological Department could detect fog en route and update pilots about weather and low visibility.

Mtilatila explained that weather documentation is provided before a flight departs and contains information about the departure point, en-route conditions, flight levels and destination airport.

Committee vice-chairperson James Mpunga questioned how the pilots could have started the flight to Mzuzu without weather information and how the department could have been unaware of the trip when officials at its Mzuzu station knew about it.

In response, Mtilatila maintained that the department was not aware of the VVIP flight and that there was no request for weather information.

Nkhata Bay North MP Mackenzie Nkhwazi (Democratic Progressive Party) asked whether the Mzuzu station now has a forecaster and Mtilatila said the station now has a forecaster but added that more were needed because one was not enough.

Kamuzu International Airport forecaster Jarson Sokosa also told the committee that he did not generate en-route weather information for the June 10 VVIP flight because no request was made to his office.

When Njawala asked who was supposed to make the request, Sokosa said it was the crew or others involved in the flight operation.

Mpunga asked whether the flight crew received weather information. Sokosa said he did not know because he was not in contact with them.