President Pohamba plagued by plane troubles

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba was stranded in West Africa for more than 24 hours after one of the three engines of the Presidential Falcon 900B Jet failed.

State House confirmed yesterday that Pohamba was expected back at around 24h00 last night after some “technical problems”. However, there was no official confirmation on the nature of the problem.Well-placed sources told The Namibian that Pohamba and his delegation, returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, were stuck in Cape Verde on Sunday after one of the engines of the Falcon Jet failed shortly after take-off.They stopped over in Sal, Cape Verde, to refuel in the morning.Sources said Pohamba’s staff then phoned home to instruct Air Namibia to send a Boeing 737-200 to collect the presidential delegation.The Boeing left Namibia at around midnight on Sunday and picked them up.However, one engine of the Boeing also experienced problems and they were forced to land again – this time in Accra, Ghana.Yesterday morning the Namibian delegation unsuccessfully tried to charter a plane from Gabon, eventually managing to secure a Fokker 28 from Ghana in the afternoon.Sources said the French-made Falcon, bought during the 1992 drought for N$82 million, was a reliable plane but that it was preferable to fly with three functional engines instead of two for safety reasons.The Government’s Lear Jet was not dispatched because it was designed for short distances only.On Sunday, journalists drove to Hosea Kutako International Airport to report on President Pohamba’s return, only to be told that his arrival had been delayed.Last night’s arrival was scheduled to be at Eros Airport instead of the international airport.However, there was no official confirmation on the nature of the problem.Well-placed sources told The Namibian that Pohamba and his delegation, returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, were stuck in Cape Verde on Sunday after one of the engines of the Falcon Jet failed shortly after take-off.They stopped over in Sal, Cape Verde, to refuel in the morning.Sources said Pohamba’s staff then phoned home to instruct Air Namibia to send a Boeing 737-200 to collect the presidential delegation.The Boeing left Namibia at around midnight on Sunday and picked them up.However, one engine of the Boeing also experienced problems and they were forced to land again – this time in Accra, Ghana.Yesterday morning the Namibian delegation unsuccessfully tried to charter a plane from Gabon, eventually managing to secure a Fokker 28 from Ghana in the afternoon.Sources said the French-made Falcon, bought during the 1992 drought for N$82 million, was a reliable plane but that it was preferable to fly with three functional engines instead of two for safety reasons.The Government’s Lear Jet was not dispatched because it was designed for short distances only.On Sunday, journalists drove to Hosea Kutako International Airport to report on President Pohamba’s return, only to be told that his arrival had been delayed.Last night’s arrival was scheduled to be at Eros Airport instead of the international airport.