Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has revealed that the relevant authorities in the United States of America have expressed interest in aiding the government of Ghana in getting to the bottom of the Z9 airforce helicopter crash on August 6 that claimed the lives of eight (8) individuals, including Ministers of State.

Engaging the media on August 14, the Foreign Minister noted that a request was only made after an order by His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama.

"I can confirm to you that on the instruction of His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, we have formally requested the Americans to come in and assist. We all know that they have considerable expertise when it comes to these matters, and so the indication we have received from the Americans is that they are very much willing to assist.

The minister added that “we are expecting the arrival of American experts soon to help us with the investigations.”

Emphazing the need for independent experts, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa explained that it is to “ensure that the outcome of the investigations will be acceptable to all, so that there will also be confidence in the process.”

"It is important that this process is done in a very thorough manner, in a manner that will be at par with best practice, the international gold standard. That is what President Mahama wants us to achieve. So I can assure you that our note has long been issued," he added.

Investigations to uncover the cause of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Minister for Defence; Alhaji Dr. Murtala Mohammed, Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology; Alhaji Muniru Mohammed Limuna, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator; Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress; Samuel Aboagye, Deputy Director-General of NADMO; Squadron Leader Peter Anala of the Ghana Air Force; Flying Officer Tsum Ampadu of the Ghana Air Force; Sergeant Ernest Addo of the Ghana Air Force, have become imperative due to the many probable causes that have been shared by several school of thoughts.

There are reports that the helicopter exploded midair, but this has been disputed by eyewitness accounts. As it stands now, it is unknown what led to the demise of the eight individuals—six of whom will be laid to rest on Friday, August 15, at the Black Stars Square after the burial of two others.

Already, President John Dramani Mahama has revealed that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders of the airforce helicopter Z9 have been retrieved. He made this known when he addressed the nation on Thursday night, August 7, a day after the tragic incident.

The Ghana Armed Forces has already begun investigations into the incident, the Deputy Minister for Defence, Brogya Genfi, announced on August 13.

In his interaction with the media, the Foreign Minister Okudzeto Ablakwa did not indicate the exact institution in the United States that has been engaged.

In the U.S., the main authority that investigates plane crashes is the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation—railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space.

​​S​​​ince its inception in 1967, the NTSB has investigated more than 153,000 ​​aviation accidents and thousands of surface transportation events. The NTSB investigates accidents and events to determine their probable cause, examine safety issues, and develop recommendations to prevent similar accidents and events in the future. The Board has issued more than 15,500 safety recommendations to more than 2,470 recipients in all transportation modes. The recommended action has been implemented for 82 percent of the over 12,700 recommendations that have been closed.

In Ghana, the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation and Prevention Bureau (AIB) handles the investigation of plane crashes.

On 6th July, 2020, former President Nana Akufo-Addo granted executive approval for the laying in Parliament of the Aircraft Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau Bill, 2020, pursuant to which an autonomous Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau shall be established as an institution for the conduct of investigations into aircraft accidents and incidents in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

According to the AIB, Article 26 of the Chicago Convention requires every State in which an aviation accident occurs to investigate the event. Sequel to this convention, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 requires that the investigation must be professionally done and devoid of any interferences and biases.

The capacity for the investigatory body must not only be legal, but also well structured, resourced and autonomous in its operations and findings. Additionally, in 2019, when ICAO conducted a Validation Mission to test Ghana’s level of Effective Implementation (EI) of ICAO SARPs, Ghana obtained an EI score of 89.89 percent.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Brogya Genfi has assured the general public that all pieces of information discovered as part of investigations into the helicopter crash will be made known.

“And so we want to assure you, our Chiefs, that nothing will be covered; it will be transparent, and the public will know exactly what happened in the course of this tragic accident,” he said.

On the other hand, the Deputy Defence Minister has cautioned against dissemination of unconfirmed reports with regard to the death of the eight individuals involved in the helicopter crash.

“We also want to caution the media and some analysts who have been churning out misinformation and untruths about this whole incident. All I want to say is that Ghanaians should trust that the Ministry and the Ghana Armed Forces will be diligent in the investigations and transparent about it. Whatever was the cause will be made known to the people of Ghana, and we will take some lessons from that. I don’t want to say anything beyond that.”

Since 2012, Ghana has recorded four major aircraft accidents and numerous serious incidents involving deaths of persons and damage to property, per reports.