8 minute read
Captain Victor Elcis Aryeetey
AWA captain looks back at 40 years of flight
When Captain Victor Elcis Aryeetey landed his AWA Embraer E145 jet at Kotoka International Airport on May 28, just a couple of days shy of his 65th birthday, it called time on a glittering 40-year career as a pilot that has included 11,000 flights and 20,000 flying hours. His arrival in 2012 at AWA, as pilot and head of safety, was pivotal in entrenching world-class safety standards in the then fledgling airline, which it has maintained to this day. Here, in his own words, the father-of-three looks back on his life in the skies.
UK STAY - Captain Aryeetey learned to fly at the Oxford Training Centre in the 1980s
I have been fascinated with aircraft since I can remember…
I grew up in the Kaneshie suburb of Accra. At that time my uncle was a top government official and would often travel abroad with his job. Whenever he was going to take a flight or was scheduled to fly back to Accra, my mother would take me to Kotoka International Airport to watch the aircraft taking off and landing. It was the early 1960s then and there were hardly any buildings surrounding the airport so you could get right up to the fence and watch the aircraft taxiing on the runway. I was hooked.
Science also fascinates me and developing an understanding of the physics of flight made me even more determined to be a pilot...
Science subjects were always my favourite at school and I went on to take a degree in physics at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in Kumasi before teaching the subject to ‘A’ level students at Accra’s prestigious Achimota School.
I learned theories that have proved crucial to the development of air flight, such as Bernoulli’s Principle. It explains how an aircraft, which is heavier than air, can fly, with two air streams at different speeds causing lift on the wing. The curved shape of the top of the wing means air travelling over the wing moves faster than the air moving along the wing’s bottom surface, which is flat. Bernoulli’s theorem says that the increased speed atop the wing is associated with a region of lower pressure there, which is lift. I wanted to see these theories put into practise so I decided to pursue a career as a pilot.
I learned to fly at Oxford Aviation Training [now CAE Oxford Aviation Academy] in the UK…
I started off flying light aircraft such as Cherokee, Fuji, Tomahawk, Comanche and Navajo. There was some fear to begin with. When you first take over the controls that feeling that at any moment anything can happen can be overwhelming.
When we were flying the single-engine Fuji we would regularly perform ‘spin exercises’ where we’d be instructed to deliberately stall the aircraft and send it in a spin towards the ground as if you were going to crash. It is a disorientating experience – your senses are spinning and you feel sick, but you learn to stay calm and go through the procedures and get out of the spin. Let me tell you, those exercises drove any fear there was out of me. It gives you huge confidence to know you have the ability to get out of potentially dangerous situations. Once I’d done the ‘spin exercises’ a few times all fear was gone. From then on, I was calm and in control of all my flights.
I got to see the world with Ghana Airways…
I obtained the rank of Captain in 2000 – after passing the training in Helsinki, Finland – and flew McDonnell Douglas DC10 jets before commanding DC9s and Boeing 737s on long-haul journeys to destinations such as Beirut, Cairo, London, Rome, New York, Amsterdam and Hamburg. It was an exciting life, but I was away a lot and as a father-of-three it was hard on my family. Luckily, I have a very understanding wife!
As well as the scheduled commercial flights, there was a number of special operations…
I flew pilgrims to Dakar and Jeddah, who then went on to Mecca; I flew United Nations troops to Lebanon after the war in 2006 and during the dead of night I also brought in UN peacekeepers to Kigali Airport in Rwanda after the genocide. I was also among the first to fly into South Africa once apartheid was lifted.
During my long career, I have enjoyed spectacular views from the cockpit window…
I have flown over the pyramids in Egypt and the Himalayas in China, but perhaps my favourite view was taking the ‘Carnasie Approach’ when coming into land at JFK Airport in New York. It’s challenging as it is all done manually and you are guided by visuals on the ground. Pilots approach the runway at a 90 degree angle, making a late right turn before landing. It looks incredible from the cockpit as you pass over the streets of Brooklyn. I am very proud that I got to make this approach many times in my career.
FLIGHT CREW - Seeing the world
Closer to home and flying for AWA, I always enjoyed coming into land at Abuja, in Nigeria, because you have to manoeuvre through the surrounding hills. Coming into Monrovia airport is also fun as you approach from the Atlantic Coast.
It was disappointing when Ghana Airways folded, but I was prepared…
In 2005, I moved on to work in executive aerospace and global aviation in South Africa. Then from 2006 to 2012 I was with the Virgin Nigeria/Air Nigeria team, during which time I got to fly Boeing 737s.
I have flown a great number of different aircraft over the years, but the DC-10 will always have a special place in my heart…
I loved flying the DC-10 to these big cities all over the world so it was a nice touch for AWA host a party for me after my retirement in the decommissioned DC-10 that has been turned into a restaurant just outside Kotoka International Airport. The airline had invited a number of pilots who had flown with me over the years. It brought back a lot of amazing memories.
I had no idea about the extent of the celebrations organised for me on the day of my last flight…
My last flight was from Roberts International Airport, Monrovia, to Accra. Just as the AWA Embraer E145 crossed from Ivorian to Ghanaian airspace, my first officer announced to passengers over the public address system that the Captain had an important message. I told them it was my last flight and thanked them for choosing AWA, then I realised that I still had my voice radio open and I was also broadcasting the message to aircraft control. Soon I was getting messages of congratulations across the airwaves. My farewell went far and wide.
Aircraft control deliberately delayed my landing slot, giving me time to do, as my first officer called it, a “grand tour” over Accra for one last time.
AWA ALUMNUS - Captain Aryeetey has been with the airline since 2012
When we landed all the passengers were very excited and they all wanted to take pictures with me like I was some kind of celebrity. There were so many selfie requests that the welcoming party on the runway – which included my wife and two daughters, who had both come from studying in the US to celebrate with me – had quite a wait for me to finally appear.
It was so emotional to see everyone there. I was greeted with flowers and there was a cake shaped into the form of a flying plane. One of my best and oldest friends, a Nigerian pilot who started training at the same time as me, was also there to meet me. I have never been so moved in all my life. It was overwhelming.
As I approached my 65th birthday, my boss would jokingly say to me: “Are you not tired of flying?”…
There was some sadness when I piloted my last flight, but my job as head of safety at AWA continues and the role has meant that my flying schedule had been much reduced in recent years so that has eased the shock of it…
Flying has been very special to me, but AWA has got me looking at the whole set-up here and it’s a job I can do into well beyond my 65 years.
I am very proud of what AWA has achieved as a Ghanaian airline and I am happy to have played a part…
When I joined AWA in 2012 the airline had limited revenue and was operating with just two aircraft that flew only to Kumasi and Tamale from Accra. There was some surprise then when in developing the airline’s safety department, I pushed for us to achieve international safety standards. I believed no matter our size, if we wanted to grow then we had to operate in the same way as the major airlines. In 2015 AWA became only the second Ghanaian airline to complete its IOSA audit and we have retained the standard each year since.
I am very happy that we have achieved such strong foundations for AWA. It makes me incredibly proud that we have stayed strong.
I have brought in representatives of IATA – the trade association of the world’s airlines – to ensure the gold standard of safety, security and efficiency is embedded in what we do here. These six years with AWA have been a period of personal growth for me and I want to thank the airline for all the training they have given me. I hope there are many more years to come.
WELCOME - Family members were waiting on the day of the Captain’s last flight
There is no better praise for a pilot than when passengers say they hardly registered they were flying…
The best pilots are those that keep it things simple. They follow the procedures calmly and make sure everyone has a safe and enjoyable flight with no dramas.
