The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the helicopter crash that killed Herbert Wigwe, former group chief executive officer of Access Holdings Plc, along with his family and others in February 2024.
According to the report, investigators determined the “probable cause of this accident to be: The pilot’s decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of control.”
The crash, which occurred near the California-Nevada border on February 9, 2024, claimed the lives of all six people on board, including Wigwe, his wife Doreen, their son Chizi, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc.
The NTSB report revealed that the helicopter company’s “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes” was a contributing factor in the accident. Investigators found that the company failed to ensure pilots properly completed flight risk analyses, recorded maintenance issues, and followed required regulations before departure. (Businessday)