NTSB official standing at the crash site of Wigwe | File photo
Late Herbert Wigwe, wife, Doreen and son, Chizi
About 15 months after the fatal flight that claimed the lives of former Access Holdings CEO, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and three others, the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has ascertained that the helicopter was caused by pilot error arising from spatial disorientation.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that on February 9, 2024, Wigwe died in a helicopter crash alongside his wife, Doreen; their first son, Chizi; and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group PLC (NGX Group).
The crash, which occurred in California, near the Nevada border, involved the helicopter with registration N130CZ and claimed the lives of all six passengers on board.
After over one year of investigations, the NTSB disclosed that the pilot likely became disoriented while attempting to maneuver the helicopter in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), leading to a loss of control and fatal collision with the terrain.
“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,” the report stated.
The NTSB said in the final report released on Wednesday that the accident occurred after the pilot continued flying under visual flight rules (VFR) into weather conditions that required instrument flight protocols.
It concluded as the cause of crash, “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 report also strongly indicted the helicopter company for perceived safety oversight.
It stated that the operator had demonstrated “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes,” particularly regarding flight risk assessments, maintenance issue documentation, and pre-departure compliance with aviation regulations.
The report submitted that the helicopter company’s inadequate oversight of its safety management processes was a contributing cause of the crash.
The NTSB found that the company failed to ensure that pilots accurately completed and updated the flight risk analysis, logged maintenance discrepancies, and adhered to Part 135 regulations before departure.
Notably, the report revealed that a crucial safety instrument, the helicopter’s radar altimeter, was not functional at the time of the flight.
The investigation report showed that during the return flight, the pilot had texted the director of maintenance (DOM) about an issue with the radar altimeter.
“The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determines 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,” a part of the report said.
“Contributing to the accident was 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.
“During the return flight, the pilot texted the director of maintenance (DOM) about the issue. After arriving at the company’s flight operations base, the pilot discussed the issue with the company flight follower (who was also the company’s president).
“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 were aware that the radar altimeter was not functioning, yet they departed at 1822 on the positioning flight to pick up the passengers.
“About 40 minutes later, the positioning flight landed at the airport to pick up the charter passengers. After arrival, the pilot and flight follower had a phone conversation and exchanged text messages, but they did not discuss the status of the radar altimeter or weather conditions.”