The inquiry into the helicopter crash that killed Herbert Wigwe and his family last year has been completed by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
According to the NTSB’s final aviation investigation report, which The Intercept was able to view, the pilot’s choice to continue the flight under visual flying rules into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) was the likely cause of the disaster.
Wigwe, the former global chief executive officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc, his wife Doreen, their first son Chizi, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange global Plc (NGX Group), perished in a helicopter accident on February 9, 2024.
All six passengers of the helicopter, registered N130CZ, perished in the collision that happened in California, close to the Nevada border.
The NTSB investigation, which was released more than a year after the event, stated that the pilot “probably suffered from spatial disorientation while operating the helicopter in IMC, which caused him to lose control of the helicopter and collide with the ground.”
According to the investigation, one of the contributing factors in the incident was the helicopter company’s poor supervision of its safety management procedures.
The NTSB discovered that the firm did not make sure pilots followed Part 135 requirements prior to departure, reported maintenance discrepancies, and appropriately completed and updated the flight risk analysis.
According to the inquiry report, the pilot texted the director of maintenance (DOM) regarding a problem with the radar altimeter during the return flight.
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“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,” a part of the report reads.
“Contributing to the accident was the company’s inadequate oversight of its safety management processes, including ensuring the pilots were accurately completing and updating the flight risk analysis, logging maintenance discrepancies, and ensuring the helicopter met Part 135 regulations before departure.
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“During the return flight, the pilot texted the director of maintenance (DOM) about the issue. After arriving at the company’s flight operations base, the pilot discussed the issue with the company flight follower (who was also the company’s president).
“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 1822 on the positioning flight to pick up the passengers.
“About 40 minutes later, the positioning flight landed at the airport to pick up the charter passengers. After arrival, the pilot and flight follower had a phone conversation and exchanged text messages, but they did not discuss the status of the radar altimeter or weather conditions.”
