A private helicopter caused panic among pupils and staff of the Abelemkpe No. 2 Basic School in Accra, after a forced-landing on the school’s compound.
Citi News’ Franklin Badu Junior who reported from the school said there were however no casualties to the three occupants of the aircraft.
According to him, the helicopter, which nearly crashed through the roof of the school, forced school authorities to order pupils out of their classrooms as they were engaged in some extracurricular activities.
The helicopter in the process, landed on the school’s compound around midday.
Franklin says attempts by some external engineers to fix the fault for the helicopter to move away failed on three occasions.
It is unclear yet where the Helicopter was coming from, but a source at the West African Helicopters, owners and operators of the aircraft, told Citi News it set off from Bogoso in the Western Region, and was headed for the Kotoka International Airport.
Franklin says the distance between the helicopter and school’s fence wall is just two meters.
The Managing Director of West African Helicopters who was tight-lipped and gave his name as Oly Arensen, said the aircraft forced-landed because they were taking precautionary measures after one of lights on the dashboard started blinking.
According to him, the fifteen year old aircraft, has been flying for thirty minutes today [Wednesday] before the incident. But his claim may be inaccurate since a company source told Citi News that it normally takes them one-hour and thirty minutes to fly from Bogoso to Accra.
A forced landing is a landing made under factors outside the pilot’s control, such as the failure of engines, systems, components or weather which makes continued flight impossible.
However the term also means a landing that has been forced by interception.
–
By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Photos by Godwin A. Allotey
Follow @AlloteyGodwin