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The management of Aero Survey Limited, operators of Starbow Airline, have dismissed reports that the engine of one of its aircraft caught fire on its way to Kumasi from Accra last Saturday. Some passengers of the airline, over the weekend, reported that the Starbow aircraft on which they were travelling had to make an emergency landing in Accra after the engine caught fire. They also complained about the failure of the crew to alley their fears when they had to make an emergency landing. The aircraft, BAe 146/200, which had 94 passengers and a crew of six, took off from Accra to Kumasi at 09:12am but returned to Accra at 09:25am owing to technical challenges. Technical challenges Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Chief Executive Officer of Aero Survey Limited, Mr James Eric Antwi, said the aircraft had to return to Accra because of a technical problem in one of its engines. According to him, the passengers had misconstrued a thick smoke emanating from the exhaust of the plane, caused by the technical fault, to be a burning engine. Mr Antwi stated that the aircraft, which was about 3000 feet above sea level, was confronted with what he described as a �normal� technical challenge. Safety of aircraft On landing, he said, passengers were immediately put on another aircraft and transported to Kumasi. He added that the aircraft had undergone an annual routine this year in Romania, and that �we have experienced pilots who are regularly trained�. Mr Antwi stated that the aircraft had a �normal� landing and explained that �there were no fire engines when the plane landed so that tells you that the engine was not on fire as reported earlier�. He added that the company had submitted a report to the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on the incident and gave an assurance that Starbow�s aircraft maintained high safety standards. Contrasting views In a contrasting view, a passenger on board the flight who spoke to the Daily Graphic said he saw fire emanating from the engine after a loud bang shook the aircraft. According to him, the aircraft lost altitude, adding that �it took a while for the aircraft to gain balance and honestly I said my last prayers because I thought it was all over�. He debunked claims that the crew explained the emergency landing and the reasons that occasioned it to passengers. Another passenger who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed disappointment in what he described as a �Public Relations gimmick� by the airline to save its image. He expressed shock at the absence of emergency security services when the aircraft landed and explained that �at least almost all of us were in total shock and trauma and there was no one to counsel us�. According to him, the trauma caused many of the passengers not to board another aircraft provided by the airline to Kumasi.