The Director General of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Monday said the Allied Air Cargo plane crash would not affect Ghana's efforts to regain the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Category 1 Status.

The plane crashed into the Hajj Village at Elwak Stadium on June 2, when it was trying to land at the Kotoka International Airport, killing 10 people travelling in a bus.

In an interview with the GNA in Accra, Air Commodore Kwame Mamphey (Rtd), stressed, “I don’t believe the accident would in any way mar our reputation in the aviation industry. The GCAA would continue to pursue the highest levels of safety and security in Ghana aviation."

He stated that FAA had earlier conducted a technical review and identified some gaps in procedures compelling the GCAA to come up with an action plan to address, adding “When we are ready, we would then invite the FAA for the audit”.

Air Commodore Mamphey said it was important to wait for the report of the Accident Investigation Committee on the crash, to determine probable causes and based on the report, the GCAA would improve safety in areas where there was the need to.

On recent calls for the relocation of KIA due to its location in the city centre, he said there was the need to think of a future relocation of the airport but agreed with the Sector Minister of Transport, who had earlier stated that the location of the facility was not enough reason for its relocation, citing the fact that other international airports such as JKF, Heathrow and others are in city centres.

Ghana lost the FAA Category 1 in 2005 and has since made every effort to regain it.

The FAA conducts International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme (IASA), assessing the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of each country that has carriers operating to the United States. Because of the provisions of the Chicago Convention and national sovereignty, FAA is not permitted to evaluate a foreign carrier within its own sovereign state.

An IASA assessment determines if the foreign CAA provides oversight to its carriers that operate to the United States according to international standards.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation, a United Nations agency, and Annexes 1, 6, and 8 of the Chicago Convention develop those standards.

If the CAA meets standards, FAA gives that authority a Category 1 rating, which means that air carriers from the assessed state may initiate or continue service to the United States in a normal manner and take part in reciprocal code-share arrangements with US carriers.**