Accra Preliminary assessment of the damage caused to the Ghana Airways DC 9 aircraft which skidded off the runway on landing in heavy rain at Abidjan Airport on Saturday shows that its nose wheel and port main wheel (Front and Main left tyre system) are broken. Captain Joe A. Boachie, Deputy Director-General in charge of technical, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), made this known to Mr Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport, during a familiarisation visit. He was accompanied by his two deputies, Mr Mike Hammah and Mr Steve Akorli. Captain Boachie said two GCAA experts from the Air Worthiness Section who were despatched to help aviation authorities in Abidjan to assess damage to the aircraft reported that the flaps on the wing were also broken with the pot wing resting flat on the ground. The nose of the aircraft in which a radar scanner is placed collapsed while the belly from the nose to the wing spar were ripped off. The Deputy Director General said the National Transport and Safety Board of the U.S. Department of Transport has been contacted to assist the investigation team in the interpretation of the voice and flight recorders in the blackbox.
