The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has officially revealed the cause of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of former Access Holdings CEO, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and three others.
In its final report released on Wednesday, the NTSB attributed the tragic incident to pilot error, specifically citing spatial disorientation after the pilot flew into poor weather conditions under visual flight rules (VFR).
“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,” was cited as the probable cause of the crash.
Tribune Online reports that the aircraft went down near the California-Nevada border on February 9, 2024, killing all six occupants, including Wigwe’s wife, Doreen, their son, Chizi, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group.
The NTSB report, released over 14 months after the incident, also pointed fingers at the helicopter operator for failing to enforce adequate safety protocols, noting lapses in risk assessment, documentation of maintenance issues, and adherence to aviation regulations.
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The company showed “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes,” the report stated.
Further investigations of NTSB revealed that a critical safety device, the radar altimeter was not working at the time of the flight. The pilot had reported the malfunction to the company’s maintenance team prior to takeoff.
“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 report said.
Despite knowing the equipment was faulty, both the pilot and the company’s Director of Maintenance proceeded with the flight. After picking up the charter passengers, the pilot and the company’s flight follower exchanged messages but failed to discuss the weather or the status of the altimeter, NTSB stated.
“They did not discuss the status of the radar altimeter or weather conditions,” the report noted.
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