Accra, November 28, 2017//-Investigations have begun into the crash at the Kotoka International Airport on Saturday involving a Starbow plane.
The crash resulted in one injury, according to the Ghana Airports Company Limited and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority.
However, a Deputy Energy Minister, William Owuraku Aidoo, who was on the plane, has told online news portal Ghanaweb, that he saw about five passengers with injuries.
A statement from the Emergency Operations Centre of the Kotoka International Airport confirmed that “the aircraft skidded off the runway during its take-off run.”
“The aircraft was carrying 63 passengers and 5 crew. One passenger sustained minor injuries and is currently under observation at the clinic,” the statement added.
The Airport said operations are continuing as normal.
Pilot ignored the rain
Some sources at the Airport have indicated that, the flight, which was set to take off to Kumasi, skidded off the runway in the direction of the nearby Air-force base, after its engines suddenly shut down and run into a fence wall.
The Deputy Energy Minister, William Owuraku Aidoo, stated that the pilot ignored the rains, and still opted to take off when the crash occurred.
Earlier delays
On Friday, November 24, 2017, some passengers of Starbow Airlines were stranded at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) after they were unable to embark on their booked flight.
Some of the affected passengers who spoke to Citi Business News indicated that, their flight was cancelled after they had been cleared to embark.
Though they were given a two-hour waiting period for the issue to be resolved, the airline company subsequently announced that the flight could only be postponed to Saturday, November 25, 2017.
Officials of the GCAA confirmed to Citi Business News that the flight was cancelled since Starbow Airlines had failed to conduct a demonstration flight on the new aircraft it took delivery of earlier this week.
It is unclear if this new aircraft was the same one that was involved in that incident on Friday. Efforts to get a response from Starbow Airlines have so far been unsuccessful.
Previous Starbow incidents
In 2015, passengers on board a Tamale-bound Starbow airline, had the scare of their lives when the aircraft, BAE with registration 9GSBB, crash landed in Tamale although no injuries were recorded.
In 2014, two people were injured after a Takoradi bound Starbow aircraft made an emergency landing.
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and other stakeholders in the aviation sector, have often been criticized for not cracking the whip enough on these airline operators, hence putting the lives of passengers at risk.
Find below the full statement from KIA
Starbow incident at Kotoka International Airport
Ghana Airports Company Limited and Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, can confirm that at 12.20pm today, Saturday, November 25, 2017, an incident involving Starbow Airline Flight S9 104 bound for Kumasi, occurred at Kotoka International Airport.
The aircraft skidded off the runway during its take-off run. The aircraft was carrying 63 passengers and 5 crew. One passenger sustained minor injuries and is currently under observation at the clinic.
Emergency procedures have since been activated at the airport and investigations to establish the cause of the incident has begun.
Meanwhile, operations at the airport are continuing normally.
Further updates will be provided as and when they become available.
Issued by: Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), KIA
November 25, 2017
citifmonline.com
