More than twelve hours after Malawi Vice President went missing while travelling in a military plane with nine others, new details have emerged about the plane that was carrying the prominent figure including former Malawi first lady.
Even though the Malawi Vice President is presumed dead due to a crash landing after his plane went off-radar, the Malawi President has insisted that the military should work round the clock to locate it.
Also Read: Uhuru Claims Ruto Harasses His Staff At Midnight, Fails To Release Funds To His Office
According to documents accessed by NewsProjector, the missing plane was a Dornier 228 – a twin-turboprop STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft.
The aircraft was designed and built by Dornier GmbH which later became part of DASA Dornier and Fairchild-Dornier. Shockingly, the plane made it’s first flight on 28th March 1981, showing decade long service.
According to reports, the Dornier 228 was acquired from Germany several decades ago and has been primarily used for transport by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) and despite its age and being overdue for retirement, it remained in active service.
The Dornier is equipped by 2 × Garrett TPE331-5 turboprop engines with a maximum speed of 428 km/h (266 mph) is allowed to carry 19 passengers or 2,100 kg (4,630 lb) of cargo.
Vice President was traveling from Malawi capital, Lilongwe and was scheduled to land at the Mzuzu International Airport – located approximately 230 miles north but failed to land after subsequently going off radar.
Even though it remains unclear on the safety of the Vice President, the former Malawi first lady and others on board the missing plane, reports indicate that the crew might have crash landed and are presumed dead.
Also Read: Traffic Police Officer Knocked Dead By Fellow Officer Using Landcruiser In Bungoma
This comes after several attempts by the Malawian Aviation authorities tried for hours to reach and contact the crew and the plane since it went missing but their efforts have been futile.