Aviation industry operators and experts have confirmed that the operators of the helicopter that killed Herbert Wigwe, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, along with his wife, son, and three other people in February 2024, may soon be charged with a crime in the United States.

On February 9, 2024, the Airbus EC130B4 helicopter, which was flown by Orbic Air, LLC in accordance with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135, crashed near Halloran Springs, California.

The incident claimed the lives of two pilots, Wigwe, his wife Doreen, their first son Chizi, and former NGX Group Chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo.

The primary causes of the incident, according to the US National Transportation Safety Board's final report, were "pilot disorientation" and a breach of flight procedures, particularly the decision to operate under visual flight rules in instrument meteorological conditions.

Another possible cause of the tragedy was identified as a malfunctioning radar altimeter that had been detected during a repositioning flight earlier that day. Nigerian aviation experts now predict that the US government will likely charge Orbic Air with criminal negligence before a judicial panel of inquiry.

After reviewing the case, the panel would decide how much the helicopter firm would be held liable for and what penalty it would face.

Capt. Muhammad Badamasi, a former pilot with the now-defunct Nigeria Airways, told The PUNCH that the state was the plaintiff and the helicopter firm was the defendant, stating that the case was already in court.

He said,

“It’s already a legal matter. The panel of inquiry will determine whether the crash and the resultant deaths were due to a breach of the company’s safety protocols. If so, it becomes a judicial issue, and charges may follow.”
Badamasi emphasised that the United States would handle any legal proceedings, adding that interested parties could include representatives from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Badamasi also highlighted that the case might mark a turning point for regulatory enforcement in private charter operations, both domestically and abroad, as judicial scrutiny increases.

Similar opinions were expressed by Capt. Ado Sanusi, a retired pilot and current managing director of Aero Contractors, who stated that the state would pursue legal action following the submission of the accident investigation body's findings regarding the incident's underlying cause.

He said,

“Once the investigation report is out, the next step lies with the appropriate legal authorities. If negligence is established, it is within their jurisdiction to act accordingly. The role of the aviation industry ends with identifying the cause.”
Chris Aligbe, another industry expert, stated that the case would be tried under US law and that negligence cases are no longer treated lightly in the aviation sector worldwide.

He said,

“Before now, issues like this happened and the masterminds got away with it, but not anymore, things are changing. The root cause will be determined and prosecuted in accordance with the law of the land.”

Report explains real cause of Herbert Wigwe’s helicopter crash
Legit.ng reported that the full report from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on the February 2024 helicopter crash that killed Herbert Wigwe, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, and his family members has been made public.

Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Wigwe, his wife Doreen, and their son Chizi were among the six individuals killed in the February 9, 2024, collision near the California-Nevada border.

According to the report, 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.”