The Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Armed Forces has assured that the recently commissioned presidential jet is still safe to fly, maintaining the forced landing last Friday in Libya was the result of a minor problem.

Col Atintande M’Bawine, speaking on the Big Bite on XFM 95.1, a privately owned commercial radio station in Accra, called on Ghanaians not to panic, stressing, this was only a precautionary measure the pilot and the other crew members took.

The recently commissioned presidential jet made an emergency landing on a Libyan airstrip en route to Burkina Faso last Friday, December 10 2010. The aircraft which was carrying Vice President John Mahama and other prominent persons for an engagement in Burkina Faso was in Libyan airspace when an abnormality was detected in the engine.

Also on board the aircraft were soccer legend and a business mogul Abedi Pele and member of the Council of State, Alhaji Asuma Banda.

The plane made the forced landing after a fault developed in one of its three engines.

However, Col Atintande disclosed that the pilot could have continued the journey on the other two engines but decided to exercise what he called ‘precautionary measures’.

“The plane has three engines, two can be used. So the pilot could have come home or continued the journey. But because we are professionals, we did not want to play with the lives of the people on board. So when we noticed there was a problem with the oil leak in one of the engines, the pilot decided that it stopped over. So we are not worried at all”.

Col Atintande maintained the plane is still safe to fly, even though he said the Armed Forces are waiting for the manufacturers of the plane to send down representatives to Libya to ascertain what might have caused the problem.

Meanwhile, the Vice President Mahama is said to be doing just fine after the encounter.

His spokesperson John Jinapor said the Vice President appeared ‘calm’ and ‘cool’ even when death was obviously staring him and all the others in the face.

“I just spoke with him this morning; he is surprised that this is major news this morning. But he was quite calm and cool”, Mr Jinapor answered when asked how Mr Dramani was faring.