A Malawi Air Force Dornier 228-202K crashed into a mountain during marginal weather conditions, resulting in the deaths of all nine crew members. The aircraft departed Mzuzu Airport (ZZU) at 07:04 local time and arrived at Lilongwe Airport (LLW) at 07:52. The aircraft was refuelled and the six passengers, including the Vice President of Malawi, boarded the aircraft. The flight took off from LLW at 09:16 and received climb clearance to FL90. The flight crew requested to maintain 7,000 ft AMSL. At approximately 09:23, the aircraft reached a cruise level of about 7,300 ft (GPS altitude). At 09:50, the flight crew began to deviate from the direct course to ZZU by entering a left-hand turn. From then on, the flight followed an erratic course at varying altitudes and several 360-degree turns. At 10:12, the flight crew reported in on the Mzuzu Tower frequency and informed him that they were 20 NM away and intended an approach from the north. The Flight Information Officer communicated the weather information and that runway 17 was in use, and that visibility was approximately 5 km east, south, and west of the airport. Four minutes later, the aircraft impacted a hillside, 34 km (18 NM) south-west of ZZU. The aircraft collided with a tree trunk with the outer part of the right wing at a height of approximately 4.5 meters above ground level, followed by the impact of the airplane’s lower fuselage, resulting in its breakup and subsequent wreckage settling on a slope approximately 80 meters from the tree.A Malawi Air Force Dornier 228-202K crashed into a mountain during marginal weather conditions, resulting in the deaths of all nine crew members. The aircraft departed Mzuzu Airport (ZZU) at 07:04 local time and arrived at Lilongwe Airport (LLW) at 07:52. The aircraft was refuelled and the six passengers, including the Vice President of Malawi, boarded the aircraft. The flight took off from LLW at 09:16 and received climb clearance to FL90. The flight crew requested to maintain 7,000 ft AMSL. At approximately 09:23, the aircraft reached a cruise level of about 7,300 ft (GPS altitude). At 09:50, the flight crew began to deviate from the direct course to ZZU by entering a left-hand turn. From then on, the flight followed an erratic course at varying altitudes and several 360-degree turns. At 10:12, the flight crew reported in on the Mzuzu Tower frequency and informed him that they were 20 NM away and intended an approach from the north. The Flight Information Officer communicated the weather information and that runway 17 was in use, and that visibility was approximately 5 km east, south, and west of the airport. Four minutes later, the aircraft impacted a hillside, 34 km (18 NM) south-west of ZZU. The aircraft collided with a tree trunk with the outer part of the right wing at a height of approximately 4.5 meters above ground level, followed by the impact of the airplane’s lower fuselage, resulting in its breakup and subsequent wreckage settling on a slope approximately 80 meters from the tree.