After completing the investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in a report, disclosed that the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Herbert Wigwe, along with his wife, son, and other members on board, was the result of the pilot’s spatial disorientation and company negligence.
Wigwe, who was the former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, his wife Doreen, their first son Chizi, and the former Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Abimbola Ogunbanjo, lost their lives on February 9, 2024, in a helicopter crash.
The Airbus helicopter, operated by Orbic Air, LLC as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 on-demand flight with registration number EC 130B4, reportedly crashed near Halloran Springs, California, along with two pilots on board.
The NTSB on Tuesday, in its final aviation investigation report, stated that the probable cause of the crash stemmed from the pilot’s decision to continue the visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions.
Further disclosures in its report indicated that contributing factors to the crash were 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.”
Before the accident, the NTSB revealed that the helicopter was undergoing routine technical maintenance, which included the radar altimeter—a major instrument required before Part 135 flight operations.
The investigator report stated, “About 1727 on the day of the accident, the accident pilot and a company mechanic/pilot repositioned the helicopter from the maintenance facility to the company’s flight operations base, and during the flight, the accident pilot noted the radar altimeter was not functioning,” the report noted.
After informing the Director of Maintenance (DOM) about the radar altimeter issue and discussing it with the flight follower—who was also the company’s president—he told the pilot that the flight could not depart if the radar altimeter was not functioning, says the report.
“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 revealed.
During their findings, it was noted that both the mechanic and DOM were aware that the radar altimeter was not functioning, and yet the flight departed at 1822 to pick up the passengers.
It was said that the helicopter’s airspeed and altitude increased two minutes before the crash, with a slight deviation to the south of the freeway.
“It is unclear if the pilot was attempting an inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) recovery manoeuvre. The helicopter continued the right turn for about 10 seconds when the helicopter began a rapid descent into terrain while maintaining the right turn,” the report noted.
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The report added that witnesses, who were in transit in their vehicles, observed that the weather condition in that area was poor, accompanied by rain with a snow mix. The witnesses observed a fireball to the south of the freeway.
The investigators’ revelation indicated that rescue efforts were frustrated by the poor weather conditions due to low visibility, rain, snow, and high winds.
“The helicopter wreckage, which was highly fragmented and not survivable, was located about 1 hour and 40 minutes after the accident,” the report said.
However, the post-accident investigation found no signs of mechanical failure in the helicopter’s engine, airframe, rotors, or controls that would have prevented normal flight.
The engine showed damage consistent with being powered at the time of impact. However, all flight instruments and electronic devices were too damaged to recover data.
The NTSB reported that the crash was a high-energy impact, with the helicopter hitting the ground right side down. Both pilots, aged 25 and 22, held commercial flight instructor licenses and were properly trained.
The report suggested the pilot may have experienced Coriolis illusion from head movement during a turn and a false sense of climbing (somatogravic illusion) as the helicopter accelerated downward.
The investigation added, “The pilot likely experienced spatial disorientation while manoeuvring the helicopter in IMC, which led to his loss of helicopter control and the resulting collision with terrain.”
