Ghana’s U23 side had some scary moments on their journey to Gabon as their flight could not land for about TWO HOURS before being diverted to another country due to bad weather.
The Askyy plane they were travelling on made seven failed attempts to land at the Libreville Airport before the pilots took the decision to go to Cameroon to land.
Players and officials in the contingent of 33 were heard making loud prayers in various religions as the aircraft hovered above the Librevile Airport for two hours, seeking clear skies.
The Black Meteors' fear was exacerbated by thoughts of the recent Ethiopian Airline crash that killed all passengers on board including a football official just after take off in Addis Ababa.
The thought of a bad landing could have thrown Ghana into a state of national mourning as budding football talents would have been involved.
However the smart decision to land in neighbouring Cameroonian city of Douala saved the situation before they arrived for the return leg of their Olympic qualifier.
“We arrived in Gabon safely but very scary. We were in the sky for almost two hours but couldn’t land because of bad weather and had to go to Douala, Cameroon instead of Libreville, Gabon and wait for more than one hour, before trying again. Thank God for traveling mercy. We are now in our hotel,” Black Meteors coach Ibrahim Tanko said.
With the team spending another one hour in Douala desperate Gabon FA officials who were expected to meet the team on arrival feared the worst.
Their fears were calmed when airport officials told them of the three -hour delay caused by the bad weather.
This means the Meteors could not get their training session in Gabon on Sunday with their final session scheduled for Monday.
Ghana hammered the Gabonese 4-0 in the first leg in Accra on Saturday with the return match scheduled for Tuesday in the penultimate match for the CAF U23 Cup of Nations.