Ghana inaugurates committee to investigate cargo plane accident in Accra

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana's Transport minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, on Sunday inaugurated a five-member Committee to look into circumstances leading to an accident involving a Boeing 727-200 cargo plane on Saturday night.

The Nigerian Allied Air Cargo plane from Lagos, Nigeria, overshot the runway on landing at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra and ran over a passenger bus, killing 10 passengers. All four crew members of the plane survived.

The committee, which will be headed by Captain Alec Grant Sam, a former pilot and former Managing Director of the defunct state-owned Ghana Airways, has 30 days to complete its work.

Alhaji Dauda said although it was difficult to give the committee a timeline within which to work due to the extent of damage to the aircraft, it was also necessary to provide information to the public on the cause of the accident in order to allay their fears.

He urged the committee members to work hard to meet the deadline.

The committee is expected to establish the cause of the accident, determine the extent of fatalities and injuries, losses or damage to property as well as other relevant issues and make recommendations to forestall future occurrences.

Mrs Doreen Owusu Fianko, Managing Director of Ghana Airports Comoany Limited (GACL), who briefed the minister said the crew of the aircraft were responding to treatment.

Meanwhile, president John Evans Atta Mills on Sunday visited the crash site and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.
-0- PANA MA/VAO 3June2012