to take off at the Kotoka International Airport.
The Presidential aircraft, Falcon 900, was tasked to perform a special
mission at Malabo yesterday, March 3, 2015.
A press statement issued by the Ghana Armed Forces and signed by the
Director of Public Relations, Lieutenant Commander, Andy La-anyane
indicated that "the fire was caused as a result of friction between
the wheels and the runway surface."
Narrating how the incident occurred, the Ghana Armed Forces observed
that on departure from the Kotoka International Airport, the crew
experienced slight operational problems with the computer system. As a
result, the aircraft returned to the Air Force Base in Accra to reset
the computers."
It said during the second run for take-off, the "aircraft lost two
main left wheels."
According to the Armed Forces "in spite of the serious veering of the
aircraft to the left, they managed to slow and successfully turned off
the runway without veering into the shoulders of the runway. The
aircraft stopped successfully" but it was later discovered that the
left wheels were on fire.
It revealed that "emergency procedures were followed with the
disembarkation of the passengers and the fighting of the fire. Fire
extinguishers on board were used to bring the situation under
control."
Fire tenders from the Air Force Base and that of the main airport
reportedly also arrived immediately to assist in putting off the fire
completely.
Mahama's jet breaks down
This is not the first time the Presidential Jet has encountered a problem.
Last year, President Mahama confirmed that the jet he was travelling
on, developed a technical faultwhich caused his late attendance to
the 30th National Farmers Day celebrations in the Western Region.
The President and his entourage arrived in Sefwi Wiawso around 1pm
after the event he was scheduled to attend had begun two hours
earlier.
--CitiFM(Ghana)
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