What happened
On the morning of the accident, a flight crew arrived at Mzuzu Airport at 0600 hrs with the intention of flying to Lilongwe-Kamuzu to collect the Vice-President of the Republic of Malawi and five other passengers. The first leg of the journey involved a flight from Mzuzu to Lilongwe, which landed successfully at 0752 hrs. After refueling, the crew prepared for the return leg to Mzuzu.
At 0916 hrs, the aircraft departed from runway 14 at Lilongwe-Kamuzu Airport. On board were nine occupants, consisting of three crew members and six passengers. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft began a series of maneuvers. While climbing through 4,800 ft AMSL, the plane performed a left-hand turn. The crew later requested to maintain 7,000 ft AMSL, and the aircraft reached a cruise altitude of approximately 7,300 ft.
As the flight progressed toward Mzuzu, the aircraft's flight path became increasingly unstable. GPS data indicated that the plane began to deviate near the village of Fumbawowa at 0950 hrs. The aircraft performed several large, looping turns, including two full left-hand turns with a radius of roughly 600 m near Chikangawa City, while flying at altitudes as low as 200 ft AGL. The flight path fluctuated wildly between various headings and altitudes.
At 1012 hrs, the aircraft was approximately 25 NM southwest of Mzuzu Airport at 7,000 ft. After descending to 2,200 ft AGL and turning north, the aircraft turned northwest. At 1016 hrs, the plane impacted the ground. All nine people on board sustained fatal injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed.
Findings
At the time of the flight, the Flight Information Officer at Mzuzu Airport noted that weather conditions were deteriorating. The crew had expressed an intention to fly toward Ekwendeni to seek better weather. During the final stages of the flight, the crew failed to respond to radio communications from Mzuzu, despite providing an updated arrival estimate via the Mzuzu Tower frequency at 1012 hrs.