Presidential Helicopter Commences Flight
By Yusuf Alghali

22 March 2004-An eleven-seater executive helicopter donated to the Presidency of the Republic of Sierra Leone by the Emir of Qatar has completed its maiden test flight, beginning from its Cockerill Military Headquarters base, to the Freetown Peninsula area via the Hill Station Presidential Lodge and back to base, Monday 22 March 2004.

As the craft touched down at the Hill Station Presidential Lodge Helipad after a successful 10-minute test ride, an obviously impressed President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, accompanied by Transport and Communications Minister, Dr. Prince Harding, Secretary to the President, Mr. Siaka Mansaray, Spokesman Kanji Daramy, State Chief of Protocol Soulay Daramy and other senior officials, disembarked from the chopper, which is capable of flying six hours non-stop. Asked to comment about the flight, President Kabbah replied: "Great…Just Great!"