Zimbabwean pilot, Dutch tourist die in Malawi plane crash
Female crash survivor says 50-year-old Captain Makakwara fell unconscious mid-flight
By Staff Reporter
A Zimbabwean pilot died together with a Dutch passenger on Tuesday noon after a light aircraft he was flying crashed into Lake Malawi northeast of Benga.
Captain Fungai Majakwara (50) died together with 29-year-old Frisco Westheim, a Dutch tourist, while flying a Cessna 210L Centurion with registration 7Q-PFU.
The plane took off from Tongole Airfield in Nkhotakota at 2pm on a short flight to Makhanga in Liwonde.
It was expected to land at 3.15pm.
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The crash, close to the shoreline, was confirmed in a statement by Malawi’s information minister Moses Nkunkuyu Kalongashawa.
Charlotte Lemstra, a Dutch woman who was the third occupant in the doomed flight, miraculously survived the crash with minor injuries and was rescued by some fishermen who witnessed the tragedy.
The bodies of Majakwara and Westheim were recovered on Wednesday after a search involving local emergency services and fishermen in the district of Nkhotakota.
The aircraft is owned by Malawian company Nyasa Express, where Majakwara also worked as managing director.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation but Lemstra told investigators that Majakwara lost consciousness midflight, according to Nkhotakota district commissioner Ben Matengeni Tonho.
“We mobilised the support of locals and fishermen, and through their efforts, we managed to retrieve the bodies and the wreckage. The bodies have since been taken to a district hospital mortuary,” Tonho said.
