A final report on the helicopter disaster that killed former Access Holdings CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife Doreen, their son Chizi, and former NGX Group Chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo has been released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB claims that the pilot’s inadequate choice to fly under visual flight rules (VFR) in the face of severe weather that necessitated instrument flying (IMC) was the cause of the crash. Due to the pilot’s confusion and loss of control, the aircraft crashed on February 9, 2024, into a hilly region close to the Nevada–California boundary. The six passengers perished.
Orbic Air LLC, the helicopter company, was also blamed in the report for disregarding safety protocols. According to investigators, the corporation failed to adequately ensure that risk assessments were conducted prior to the trip and that the helicopter was safe to fly. Incomplete maintenance records also presented problems.
After taking off from Palm Springs and traveling toward Boulder City, Nevada, the Airbus EC130B4 registered as N130CZ crashed in a remote location close to Halloran Springs.
This final assessment supports previous claims that stronger safety regulations and better judgment could have prevented the tragedy.
The NTSB called for stricter enforcement of flight safety regulations moving ahead, emphasizing that both pilot error and operational supervision played a role in the tragedy.
The public and the victims’ families now have a complete picture of what went wrong.
