(CNN) -- The Transport Ministry in Ghana has downplayed an incident involving two commercial jets at its main airport on Monday night which some media reports have described as a plane crash.
Officials at the Kotoka International Airport say two airplanes, Lufthansa Flight 567 and Turkish Airlines Flight 624, tipped at the wings on the tarmac as the latter prepared to taxi for takeoff.
According to Deputy Transport Minister Dzifa Ativor, the official version of events as she gathered after meeting officials of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Airport Company Tuesday morning suggests an "incident".
"It wasn't a crash, it was an incident. The 'crash,' I think was too harsh a word to use," she said.
The accident has however raised questions about the ability of the airport to accommodate the several airlines that are being licensed by the Aviation Authority. Commercial oil production in Ghana is due to begin in the coming months, attracting more investors and other visitors.
But Ativor, the deputy transport minister, said a project to expand the airport to enable it to admit bigger planes is under way.
She disagreed that the incident could be the result of overcrowding.
She added, "the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has set up investigations and they will be submitting a report to the ministry as early as possible. After that we will forward it to the accident investigation board to do an in-depth investigation so that we'll take steps to forestall recurrence of such incidents."
The minister says the Turkish Airline flight, which was grounded temporarily as a result of the incident, eventually took off and has since arrived safely at its destination.
The Lufthansa flight was also suspended. But the airline's manager for Ghana, Yannick Aplogan, said the aircraft has since been certified as airworthy and will take off at 8:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. ET) Tuesday.
"Our aircraft was in the parking position when the aircraft from Turkish Airlines which was taxing to the runway hit the winglet of our aircraft," Aplogan said.
He added that, "based on our internal processes we decided to cancel the flight to make further technical checks".
According to him there was no extensive physical damage apart from a dent at the point of impact.
As many as 30 airlines including, United, Delta and Virgin Atlantic, operate from the Kotoka International Airport in the capital Accra. Turkish Airlines is one of the new airlines to have started operations from the Accra airport and there are more expected to commence before the end of the year.
The Kotoka International Airport is known to have one of the safest air corridors in sub-Saharan Africa.
Loading weather data ...
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|