An interim report by The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) on the plane crash that killed Malawi’s late Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others shows that the aircraft collided with the trunk of a tree with the outer part of the right wing at a height of about 4.5 m above ground.
Released on Friday, the report shows that the main wreckage had come to rest on the slope about 80 m from the tree it had collided with.
The report was signed by investigator in charge Jens Friedemann and field investigation: Dr Susann Winkler, Jens Friedemann.
“Part of the honeycomb structure of the wing stuck in the tree trunk. Based on the traces on the tree trunk and the right wing, it was determined that the aircraft did not have any relevant bank angle at the time of the collision. At a distance of about 12 m north-west of the tree, the airplane’s lower fuselage surface had impacted the ground.
“The right wing tip and the right aileron were laying north-west of the impact site of the fuselage. Parts of the interior and some cockpit instruments were scattered over an area of about 60 m x 25 m.
“The main wreckage had come to rest on the slope about 80 m from the tree it had collided with. The fuselage had come apart and the engine were torn off the wings. The cowling of both engines had fractured abreast of the first compressor stage. The propellers of both engines were torn off the shafts.
“The flap control lever was deformed. The landing gear was extended, the landing gear lever in the position “Down”. The Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) and the Radio Magnetic Indicator (RMI) on the co-pilot’s side showed a heading of 284°. The barometric altimeter on the left side of the instrument panel showed a reference pressure of 1,029 hPa and the one on the right of 1,026 hPa,” reads part of the report.
However, the report showed that the airplane was not equipped with a Cockpit Voice Recorder or a Flight Data Re- corder and these recording devices were not required by relevant aviation regulations.
“The air navigation service in Lilongwe had no recorded radar data of the two flights on the day of the accident.
“The navigation system Garmin Aera 760 had recorded position data (GPS position and altitude above time). The BFU read out the data. In addition to the data of the accident flight, position data of flights from 7 March 2024 onwards could be saved.
“The recording of the accident flight began at 0846:48 hrs at the apron of the departure airport and ended at 1016:14 hrs in the immediate vicinity of the accident site,” reads the report
Further, the report says the software “Garmin Basecamp” was used to access the internal memory. It had stored “waypoints” and “flight plans of users.
“The Diagnostics Page was also analysed. It was determined that the GPS had switched off automatically about 2:45 hours after the aircraft’s impact (time of the ac- cident), due to low battery power,” it said
Because of the missing radar coverage of the lower airspace north of the border of the TMA Lilongwe, the BFU said it asked the telephone company for the mobile radio data of the airplane’s occupants’ mobile devices.
“The data was provided. It showed that four mo- bile devices of the three occupants had been switched on and logged into different radio cells during the accident flight.
“The Emergency Locator Transmitter Narco Avionics ELT10 was mounted in the cabin on the left fuselage side next to the door. It was an ELT which transmits signals on the frequencies 121,5 MHz and 243 MHz. The ELT was examined. It was determined that it was not functioning because its battery had expired in 2004. According to the Malawi Air Force, for such devices there were no spare parts and no budget for new 406 MHz ELT
“Until the end of January 2009, COSPAS-SARSAT satellites had monitored the fre- quencies 121,5 MHz and 243 MHz. Since 1 February 2009, the satellites only moni- tored the internationally agreed emergency frequency 406 MHz,” it reads
The investigators have recommended Safety Recommendations the Minister of Defence of Malawi to ensure that aircraft of the Malawi Air Force transporting persons are equipped with a functional Emergency Loca- tor Transmitter (ELT).
“The Minister of Transport and Public Works of the Republic of Malawi should ensure that up-to-date information concerning radio navigation aids in Malawi is available to aircraft crews at all times.
“The Department of Civil Aviation should check the proper function of the radio navigation aids and update the respective information in the Malawi Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP),” reads the report
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