Pistol on Ghanair Flight

With September 11 2003 some two days away, sensibilities of passengers travelling aboard aircraft, seem to have been heightened, by the memory of the harrowing experience, that the American people went through, on September 11, 2001.

With the anniversary only a few days hence, it appears that the memory of the 2001 bombing of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, triggered of panic amongst passengers aboard Ghana Airways Flight-GH 563/2, who became apprehensive, when they realized that one of their number, had a pistol hidden on his person. The Aircraft was flying from Robertsville Airport in Monrovia, Liberia, en-route through Abidjan to Accra.

Obviously terrified, one of the passengers, according to information reaching The Independent, informed one of the Flight Attendants that a man suspected to be an Army Officer had an object suspected to be a gun concealed on his waist.

The man was dressed in camouflaged military attire. The Flight Attendant, investigations revealed, then informed a superior officer (Purser) on the aircraft, of the information passed on by the alarmed passengers.

The Purser, our investigations revealed, then relayed the information to the Pilot, who requested that the Purser verify the truth or otherwise, of the report.

The Purser, this paper was reliably informed, mustered courage and confronted the said Army Officer, who according to information The Independent is privy to, is one Major Otoo. He acceded to the request from the Purser that he hand the pistol over to him.

“The Major however was very cooperative in handing over the pistol to the Purser”, a passenger told this paper. The Pilot, we established, then advised the Purser to keep the pistol till arrival at the Accra International Airport.

Further checks at the Ghana Airways offices in Accra have established that there was no Marshal on the said aircraft, hence the decision by crew in charge of the aircraft to keep the pistol.

Some of the passengers who this paper spoke to wondered why the security at the Departure Hall at the Robertsville International Airport in Monrovia did not detect that the military officer had a pistol concealed on his body.

The Independent found out from further investigations that Major Otoo is a member of Ghana’s contingent to the ECOMOG peace-keeping operations in Liberia.

It was not immediately known why the military officer was returning to Ghana.