Pilot’s error, blamed negligence of an accident that killed the Gcea Wigwe – Thage access bank

By Ayo Kehinde

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States has published its final report on the helicopter accident that killed Herbert Wigwe, a former group of access holdings Plc.

The helicopter crashed near the border with California-Nevada on February 9, 2024, killing all six people on board, including Wigwe, his wife, Doreen, their son, Chizi and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former president of the group of the Nigerian exchange group PLC.

According to the report, the accident was caused by the “pilot’s decision to continue the flight of the visual flight rules in weather conditions of the instrument, which caused the spatial disorientation of the pilot and the loss of control”.

Investigators also identified the “inadequate supervision of its security management company” as a factor that contributes. The company did not ensure that the pilots completed the evaluations of the flight risk, they addressed maintenance problems and respected the regulations before take -off.

“The pilot probably experienced a spatial disorientation while maneuvering the helicopter in IMC [instrument meteorological conditions]which led to its loss of control of the helicopter and the collision resulting with land. “

A key discovery was that the radar altimeter of the helicopter did not work before the fatal flight. The report revealed that the pilot had previously sent a message to the director of maintenance on the matter.

The report observed that “a company’s mechanic performed some problems on the altimeter of the radar; however, it was unable to correct the problem, and the altimeter of the radar remained non -functional. The mechanic reported that the pilot and the Dom (director of maintenance) were aware of the fact that the Altimeter Radar was working, but did not start from 1822 to the positioning for the flight for the passage. “.

The investigation also revealed that after the pilot collected the passengers, he exchanged messages with the flight follower but “did not discuss the state of the radar altimeter or weather conditions”.

The helicopter, recorded as N130CZ, was flying under visual flight rules but in the end it entered the weather conditions of the instrument, which require a different series of flight protocols and navigation tools, concluded the report.

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