Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has revealed that American experts have agreed to assist in decoding the black box from the Ghana Armed Forces Z-9 helicopter that crashed on August 6.
Speaking to newsmen in Accra on August 14, Ablakwa explained that while the Chinese manufacturers of the Z-9 helicopter had already been contacted and were standing by, the President opted for an additional layer of independent verification.
“I can confirm to you that the Chinese have already been contacted, and the manufacturers are standing by. Indeed, the briefing we have received from the CDS is that there is a standing protocol where the black box must be, as it were, made available to the manufacturer… and so they are standing by,” he said.
The minister highlighted that the President’s decision was deliberate and prudent, ensuring that the process is free from any perceived conflicts of interest or special interests attempting to influence outcomes.
“In the President’s wisdom, the President does not want anything to proceed without independent aspects, and I think that it is quite fair, so that we will just avoid all doubts, so that people will not raise issues of probably conflict of interest, maybe people with some kind of special interest trying to cover up, and all of that,” Ablakwa noted.
By bringing in the Americans, who are “far removed from this process,” the government aims to incorporate completely independent expertise, providing an unbiased analysis of the black box data.
“So, seeing that the Americans are far removed from this process, and they offer that independent expertise required, I think that we need to applaud the President’s wisdom in this matter, and we need to also really thank our American partners for agreeing to assist us in this regard,” he added.
