Ghana to probe emergency landing of Nigerian airliner

A Nigerian passenger plane made an emergency landing Monday in Ghana after the pilot reported a hydraulic system failure.

No injuries were reported, but sources said the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority would ground the Bellview Airlines Boeing 737-200 pending an investigation into the incident.

The plane made an emergency landing at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra. Flight B3 252 scheduled for Freetown, Sierra Leone through Accra landed 55 minutes late with a burst tyre due to system failure.

Femi Awe Gideon, Bellview Country Manager for Ghana, told the Ghana News Agency that the pilot radioed the Accra Traffic Control to report the fault and requested for ground emergency services to enable him to land.

The plane came to a stop in the middle of the runway, closing the airport for 45 minutes during which the passengers were evacuated and the plane towed away.

Three Nigerian-operated planes, including a Bellview aircraft, have crashed in that country in recent weeks, raising concerns of safety among the travelling public.