By Ayo Kehinde
The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the helicopter crash that killed Herbert Wigwe, former Group CEO of Access Holdings Plc.
The helicopter crashed near the California-Nevada border on February 9, 2024, killing all six people on board, including Wigwe, his wife, Doreen, their son, Chizi and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc.
According to the report, the crash was caused by “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.”
Investigators also identified the helicopter company’s “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes” as a contributing factor. The company failed to ensure pilots completed flight risk assessments, addressed maintenance concerns, and complied with regulations prior to takeoff.
“The pilot likely experienced spatial disorientation while manoeuvring the helicopter in IMC [instrument meteorological conditions], which led to his loss of helicopter control and the resulting collision with terrain.”
A key discovery was that the helicopter’s radar altimeter was not functioning before the fatal flight. The report revealed the pilot had earlier texted the maintenance director about the issue.
The report noted that “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 (director of maintenance) were aware that the radar altimeter was not functioning, yet they departed at 1822 on the positioning flight to pick up the passengers.”
The investigation further revealed that after the pilot picked up the passengers, he exchanged messages with the flight follower but “did not discuss the status of the radar altimeter or weather conditions.”
The helicopter, registered as N130CZ, was flying under visual flight rules but eventually entered instrument meteorological conditions, which require a different set of flight protocols and navigation tools, the report concluded.
