Liberia Public Radio has gathered that the private jet carrying President Boakai experienced a burst tire after landing early Thursday.
Airport authorities confirmed to local media that this issue may have been caused by the plane and not on the runway of the country’s only international airport, as was earlier speculated.
In a statement issued late Thursday, the Liberia Airport Authority confirmed that President Boakai and all passengers on board were safely evacuated in accordance with airport emergency standards. The LAA also denied that the tire problem was caused by potholes, asserting that the airport meets all international standards.
“All flights scheduled to land have been canceled due to this incident”, the statement added.
An insider source told Liberia Public Radio that proper due diligence may not have been performed prior to the flight’s landing, and that there has been some neglect of duties attributed to alleged administrative infighting at the airport.
However, preliminary investigations suggest that one of the plane’s landing gear malfunctioned upon landing.
President Boakai was returning from the 50th anniversary celebration of ECOWAS in Nigeria when the incident occurred. After being evacuated from the plane, President Boakai did not comment on the situation until it was raised by some passengers whose flights were delayed.
The President of the office has not yet officially commented on the plane situation. However, reports indicate that the private jet in question was commissioned 36 years ago.
