Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, the Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey, has narrated how her late father, former President Jerry John Rawlings, faked a heart attack just to get her to fly a plane for the first time.
According to Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, she flew her first plane at age 13.
Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings recounted how she flew solo for the first time, narrating how her father pretended to suffer a heart attack while they were airborne to test her readiness.
Speaking during an interview on GHOne’s Starr Chat on June 27, 2024, Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings narrated, “I flew my first plane at age 13. It was a circuit. He (her father) was braver than I was. It is a funny scenario because it was one of those situations where, as a parent, he taught me how to fly, had watched me, he knew what I was capable of; so, he got out of the plane and said go”.
“What he did before was, as we were on final, he said he had a heart attack, so I had to land the plane. I shut his eyes, and I caught what this man was doing. And I thought, okay, I have to land this plane, which I did. And I think for him, that was his way of testing whether I would be able to do it,” she narrated.
“And then he got out and said, ‘You are ready, go’. And I looked at him, I was scared actually because I thought ‘I don’t know’ and he said ‘You are ready, go’. So, I did, I went, and of course I was praying the whole way,” she added.
In related news, Retired Major General Kwamina Sam has revealed that the late former President Jerry John Rawlings would not have joined the army if not Air Force Commander’s personal decision.
According to Retired Major General Jerry John Rawlings, at the time, he failed his examinations and should have been disqualified, but the Air Force Commander took a personal decision to keep him as he was a good pilot.
Retired Major General explained that the commanders saw Rawlings as a nice chap whom they could handle, but it was to their own peril.
Speaking with Kafui Dey in a video shared on Facebook, Retired Major General Kwamina Sam explained, “June 4th, if anybody had told me it was coming, I wouldn’t have believed it. I just finished my service in Kumasi as commander and moved to Accra as Chief of Staff. I was then a Brigadier General”.
According to the former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, he never met Rawlings at Achimota School, but added that he was aware of him.
“In fact, he always looked crafy to me. It was the Air Force Commander’s personal decision, despite the fact that he wasn’t passing his exams, that he was a good pilot and should be kept. If the rules had been applied, Rawlings wouldn’t have been in the service. They all thought he was a nice chap; they could handle him, to their peril,” he added.
Also, a former Chief of Air Staff, retired Air Commodore K. K. Pumpuni, has deflated the long-standing assertions that the late Jerry John Rawlings once flew an aircraft under the Adomi Bridge.
According to the former Chief of Air Staff, he was in charge of operations of the Air Force, and nothing like that happened, adding that if Rawlings had indeed flown under the Adomi Bridge, he would have court-marshalled him.
Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey shared on X on Monday, March 9, 2026, the retired Air Commodore stated, “There was a claim that Rawlings flew under the Adomi Bridge, and I said no, he didn’t. I was in charge of the operations of the Air Force, and nothing like that happened. If it had happened, we would have court-martialled him. Nothing like that ever happened”.
“There are certain issues surrounding it, and an aircraft cannot just fly under the bridge over the water like that. I made that comment, and he heard it, and he wasn’t too happy about it. He felt I should have kept quiet, but I said no. I was asked a question, so I couldn’t have kept quiet”.
“If I had kept quiet, it would have meant I was endorsing the claim. But it wasn’t true, and you also know it’s not true. Jerry had a small problem with me after that incident, so I’ve not been able to publish my book,” he added.