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As Ghana continues to reel from the devastating military helicopter crash that claimed eight lives, former President John Agyekum Kufuor has revealed a chilling near-miss he experienced while serving as head of state, offering a sobering reminder of the dangers high-ranking officials face in the skies.
In an emotional recollection aired on Angel TV, the former president shared a dramatic incident from 2007, when a presidential flight from Tripoli to Khartoum nearly ended in catastrophe over the vast Sahara Desert.
“I remember that sometime in 2007, had it not been for God’s intervention, I would have been involved in a plane crash over the Sahara Desert,” Kufuor said, reflecting on what could have been a national tragedy.
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Kufuor detailed how the flight, carrying a delegation of 12 to 16 officials, had departed Libya after a meeting with the late Muammar Gaddafi, heading to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. But shortly after takeoff, the aircraft began to struggle with altitude, refusing to climb despite clear skies.
“All of a sudden, over the desert, the plane could not ascend. It had become heavy, and for almost 30 minutes, it refused to gain altitude,” he recounted. “When you looked down, all you could see was the desert. Eeeii! What was about to happen to us here?”
What made the situation even more alarming, according to the former president, was the complete silence from the flight crew, coupled with visible signs of panic among the cabin staff.
“The pilot remained silent, not communicating anything to us,” Kufuor recalled. “The flight attendants were moving luggage around and bringing it close to their seats—that scared all of us even more.”
In a desperate bid to regain control, the pilot made a sharp detour away from the desert, steering the plane toward the Mediterranean Sea, where the conditions were deemed more favorable for a safe emergency return.
“The plane managed to maneuver and made a turn to align over the Mediterranean Sea, although it was still struggling to fly at a higher altitude for nearly an hour before we finally landed in Tripoli.”
Upon landing, the crew and passengers were met with a sobering sight: fire tenders and emergency vehicles waiting anxiously at the airport.
“As we were landing, we noticed fire tenders and security vehicles speeding across the tarmac,” he said. “That was when the pilot finally explained that the plane couldn’t fly any higher and had to return.”
The shaken delegation was grounded in Tripoli overnight, with a fresh aircraft arranged the next day to continue their diplomatic mission to Khartoum.
Kufuor’s account comes at a time when Ghanaians are mourning the deaths of eight public servants, including ministers, military officers, and national security officials, who perished in a helicopter crash in Adansi Akrofuom on August 6, 2025.
Reflecting on his own brush with disaster, the former president offered a sobering perspective on the inherent risks of political leadership and diplomatic travel.
“I have witnessed something like this before,” he admitted. “It reminds us that public service sometimes comes with dangers many never see.”
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