A flight carrying Malawi’s vice president, Saulos Klaus Chilima, remains missing as search and rescue operations continue.
UPDATE: The military plane carrying the vice president and nine other passengers was found on Tuesday with no survivors. Investigations into the cause of the plane crash are ongoing.
Search for flight carrying Malawi vice president continues
President Lazarus Chakwera announced late on Monday that efforts to locate the plane would persist until it is found.
According to reports, the military aircraft, which departed from Lilongwe, the capital, at 09:17 on Monday, was carrying Chilima, 51, and nine other individuals.
The aircraft was scheduled to land at Mzuzu Airport at 10:02. However, due to poor visibility, it was unable to land and was instructed to return to Lilongwe.
Aviation authorities lost contact with the plane shortly after it went off the radar.
In a televised address, President Chakwera expressed his hope for finding survivors, stating that the search efforts were concentrated within a 10 km (6 mile) radius in a forest reserve.
“I’m holding on to every fibre of hope that we’ll find survivors,” Chakwera said.
He added that Malawi had sought assistance from neighbouring countries as well as from the United States, Britain, Norway, and Israel to bolster the search and rescue operations.
Is it possible for a flight to completely disappear?
The disappearance of flights, while rare, is not unprecedented.
Various factors can contribute to such incidents, including technical malfunctions, severe weather conditions, and human error.
In the case of the missing flight carrying Vice President Chilima, poor visibility was a significant factor that prevented the plane from landing as scheduled at Mzuzu Airport.
Aviation experts emphasise that while modern technology has greatly improved the ability to track aircraft, there are still scenarios where a flight can go missing.
In remote areas or under adverse weather conditions, radar coverage and communication signals can be compromised.
Additionally, if an aircraft crashes in a dense forest or deep water, locating it can be extremely challenging.