Why Helicopter Conveying The Wigwes Crashed – U.S. NTSB Report
The United States National Transportation Safety Board has ascribed the helicopter crash that killed former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and three others to pilot error caused by spatial disorientation.
The crash which occurred near the California-Nevada border on February 9, 2024, claimed the lives of all six people on board, including Wigwe, his wife Doreen, their son Chizi, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc.
The NTSB report which was released on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, also indicted the helicopter company, accusing it of “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes”.
These were contained in the final report of the NTSB which unravelled the causes for the helicopter crash in February 2024.
The preliminary report had shown that the helicopter with registration number N130CZ, crashed while operating under visual flight rules in what ultimately became instrument meteorological conditions, requiring different flight protocols and instrumentation.
The report stated that investigators determined 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 US accident investigators also noted that the helicopter company failed to ensure pilots properly completed flight risk analyses, recorded maintenance issues, and followed required regulations before departure.
The report said; “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”.
The investigation also showed that the helicopter’s radar altimeter was non-functional before the fatal flight, stressing that during an earlier flight, the pilot texted the maintenance director about an issue with this critical instrument.
The report further stated; “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 found that after arriving to collect the charter passengers, the pilot and flight follower exchanged messages but “did not discuss the status of the radar altimeter or weather conditions,” it stated.
