The President, Flt.-Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, on Wednesday piloted one of the two jets which went into the air to "break the ice", soon after the crash of the Air Force plane in which the sole Pilot was killed.
"Breaking the ice" is the Air Force tradition in which after an jets go into the air, flying along the last routes by the plane before it crashed.
According to eye-witnesses, as the presidential plane touched down at the Kotoka International Airport, Accra, on arrival from Botswana, the Air Force jet, which appeared to have come in along the presidential plane, tried unsuccessfully to climb out of an acrobatic dive but apparently lost control and crashed nearby. The next moment, the eye-witnesses said, the presidential plane made what was seen as a forced breaking to a stop. The purpose of that abrupt stop looked like to enable the President and other people on the plane to dash out to see whatever help they could give.
The President later joined a rescue team in a helicopter to locate the body of the late Squadron Leader Samuel Dwamena. Newsmen joined in an aerial view of the disaster spot. The view revealed that the plane exploded, scattering its parts around a vast area.
For instance, although the plane exploded in the bush between the Air Force Station and the international airport, some of the scattered parts were located far away close to the main tarmac. A military source told the "Times" that considering the extent of damage, it would take some time to assemble evidence to determine the cause of the accident.
Meanwhile, the remains of the late Sqn-Ldr. Dwamena were deposited at the 37 Military Hospital, Accra, late Wednesday.
Source: Ghanaian Times
