The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed its report on the helicopter crash involving Herbert Wigwe, the former Group CEO of Access Holdings Plc, and five others.
According to the NTSB, the crash was caused by the pilot’s decision to fly into poor weather and the operator’s failure to enforce safety protocols.
The incident occurred on February 9, 2024, near the California-Nevada border, killing all onboard.
On board with Herbert were his wife, Doreen; their son, Chizi; and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, along with two other passengers.
“The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determines 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 report states.
The report also pointed to the helicopter company’s “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes,” which contributed to the tragedy.
These failures included lapses in logging maintenance issues, ensuring compliance with federal aviation regulations (Part 135), and properly updating the flight risk analysis.
The report noted that the pilot had reported issues with the radar altimeter to the Director of Maintenance (DOM) and discussed it with a flight follower—who also served as the company president—yet the flight proceeded.
“A company mechanic performed some troubleshooting on the radar altimeter; however, he was unable to rectify the issue, and the radar altimeter remained non-functional.
“The mechanic reported that the pilot and the DOM were aware that the radar altimeter was not functioning, yet they departed at 18:22 on the positioning flight to pick up the passengers,” the report added.
