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.
Neither the President nor any government official was on board and no casualties have been recorded.The crew on board was on a mission for the presidency.
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 fault which 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.
