The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has completed its investigation into the fatal helicopter crash that claimed the lives of former Access Holdings Plc CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife Doreen, their son Chizi, and Nigerian Exchange Group Plc’s former group chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
The crash occurred on February 9, 2024, in California, near the Nevada border.
The NTSB’s final report indicates that the main cause of the crash was the pilot’s decision to proceed with the flight under visual flight rules (VFR) despite deteriorating weather conditions.
This decision led to the pilot becoming disoriented, losing control, and crashing the helicopter into the terrain.
The investigation also pointed out that the helicopter company’s lack of proper safety oversight contributed to the accident.
According to the report, the company did not ensure that its pilots completed proper risk analyses before flights, nor did they ensure that the helicopter met necessary safety regulations.
Furthermore, there were lapses in logging maintenance issues, which worsened the situation.
Additional details revealed that during the return flight, the pilot had contacted the maintenance director via text about a problem with the radar altimeter.
However, when the helicopter reached the operations base, the issue was not addressed properly.
The mechanic who tried to fix the radar altimeter couldn’t resolve the problem, and it remained faulty.
Despite being aware of the issue, the pilot and maintenance director proceeded with the flight, which led to the tragic crash shortly after the helicopter took off to pick up passengers.
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