AIB notified of KLM bird strike incident at Kotoka International Airport

The Aircraft Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau has been notified of an aircraft incident that occurred at the Kotoka International Airport due a bird strike incident involving a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft belonging to the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Upon takeoff on runway 21, a Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) flight (KL590) bound for Amsterdam from Accra aborted takeoff  at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on the 3rd September, 2021 due a bird strike incident. This was close to the windshield prompting the Captain of the flight to apply emergency brakes. According to the AIB, this caused two tires to deflate and two other tires to worn out. All passengers were disembarked with no casualties as aircraft was towed back to the ramp.

Upon notification of the incident, the bureau constituted investigators to identify the cause with the commissioner of AIB Akwasi Agyeibi being the 1st respondent followed by Air Cdre. Kwame Mamphey (Chief Investigator), Capt. Paul Forjoe and Philipa Acheampomaa Sarfo.

The investigation is going to start by the constitution of an  investigation team to investigate and develop final report. A request for the final captain’s report, the engineer’s report, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA) report and the Ghana Airports Company Limited’s (GACL) report will be made. The bureau is expected to produce a preliminary report within a month with the final report coming up within 2 months time.

To prevent such incidences from reoccurring, AIB has requested record of bird strike incidents from GACL to analyse trends and provide safety recommendations as well as meet with the Safety and Environment Department of the Ghana Airports Company Limited.

Related News: GACL institutes investigation into a reported birdstrike incident at KIA – GH-Aviation