By Dickson Omobola

United States National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, Wednesday, attributed the helicopter crash that killed former Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Doreen, son, Chizi, and former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, to the pilot’s decision to continue flying under visual flight rules, VFR, despite worsening weather conditions.

NTSB final report on the accident, which occurred in February 2024 near the California-Nevada border, said the aircraft, registered as N130CZ, entered instrument meteorological conditions, IMC, leading to the pilot’s spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of control.

The report stressed that the pilot’s inability to navigate effectively in these conditions was a factor in the fatal accident.

Also, the investigation revealed that the helicopter’s radar altimeter was non-functional before the fatal flight.

The report stated that during an earlier flight, the pilot had texted the maintenance director about an issue with this critical instrument.

The report 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.”