KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Flight 590 was forced to abandon take-off run from Kotoka International Airport in Accra following a bird strike close to the Boeing 777-300ER’s windshield.
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), in a statement, confirmed the flight was en-route to Amsterdam when the incident occurred at 22:35 hours GMT on Friday, September 3, 2021.
The statement, signed by Corporate Communications Manager of GCAA, Eric Amaning, said “It is expected that in the event of a rejected take-off, the strong braking action of an aircraft could cause the overheating of its brakes, which may further cause fire and deflation of tyres.”
Therefore, in compliance with Ghana Civil Aviation (Aerodrome) Directives, personnel of the Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) of the Ghana Airports Company (GACL) were immediately deployed to the scene, the statement added.
The aircraft was towed to the ramp, where all 402 passengers and crew members on board disembarked. No passenger or crew member was injured during the incident, the statement indicated further.
It said under the surveillance of GCAA Aviation Safety Inspectors, the affected tyres were replaced, with all systems of the aircraft checked, before it departed Accra for Amsterdam at 0100 hours GMT Sunday.
“A joint investigation into the incident, consistent with Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, is being carried out,” the statement pointed out.
It concluded that as the regulator of air transport in Ghana, “GCAA remains fully committed to enforcing compliance with its Aerodrome Safety and Standards (ASAS) as well as the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) pertaining to wildlife management.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu