Presidential Jet Fire: Kwesi Pratt, Gbevlo escaped death!

Ghana surely escaped a major tragedy last week when two of its most well-known faces managed to walk out of the Presidential Jet alive after it caught fire.

Kwasi Pratt Junior of the Insight newspaper, and Larry Gbevlo Lartey, have been identified as two of the passengers who were on the flight to Equatorial Guinea when the flight developed technical problems and caught fire.

Sources at the Kotoka International Airport explained to the Daily Searchlight yesterday that the pair and other passengers walked out of the jet on wobbly legs but were otherwise unhurt after the traumatic experience.

The reasons for their presence on the Presidential Jet remains unclear, but sources close to Kwasi Pratt explained that their presence on the jet has something to do with organization of the 8th Pan Africa Congress recently held in Accra.

Mr. Pratt, it has emerged, was the chairman of the Local Organization Committee and Larry Gbevlo Lartey is said to be the President’s representative on that committee. Yesterday Mr. Pratt declined to comment on the matter, saying that it is a security issue.

Larry Gbevlo Lartey’s number was not going through. However, Col. Aggrey Quarshie of the Armed Forces Public Relations Directorate told the Daily Searchlight that he had no information as to who was on the flight.

It would be recalled that Ghana’s Presidential Jet caught fire a week ago at the Kotoka International Airport shortly after take-off. The plane was allegedly on a special mission to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea when a fault was detected.

The aircraft was said to have developed technical problems midair forcing the pilot to have an emergency landing at the Air force base. It was later realized that two of the jets tires had caught fire. The fire was quickly put out using the plane’s extinguishers before the fire service got to the scene.

The President was not on board the flight and no injuries were recorded. Meanwhile, the Ghana Air force and the Civil Aviation Authority officially announced that they are constituting a team to investigate how the presidential jet caught fire, Lieutenant Col, Eric Aggrey Quarshie who speaks for the Ghana Armed Forces told Joy news.

It would be recalled that on December 5 last year, the Presidential Jet developed a technical fault in Kumasi stranding President John Dramani Mahama in the Garden City and delaying his participation in the Farmer’s Day Celebrations.