The helicopter crash that claimed the life of Access Bank Chief Executive Officer, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son and three others should have happened if the crew had taken the bad weather conditions into account.
According to Robert Clifford a US aviation lawyer the crash was avoidable and the tragic loss of lives could have been averted.
The Chopper carrying Wigwe who was heading to Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl crashed at Boulder City a town between the borders of California and Nevada killing the bank executive, his wife Doren, son Chizi, stockbroker Abimola Ogunbanjo and two members of crew. Wigwe’s personal assistant Faleye Olushola opted out of the trip due to his concern for night time flight and prevailing weather condition. “The crash of a helicopter that killed six people including a top Nigerian banker and his family along the California-Nevada border Saturday night immediately strikes one as a tragedy that may have been avoided given the known weather conditions at that time,” Mr. Clifford in a statement
“The National Transportation Safety Board investigators will thoroughly examine all aspects of what led up to the crash and ultimately will use their expertise to determine the probable cause of this crash to see if it was avoidable
“It is always a horrific tragedy when innocent lives are lost in an aviation disaster.”
The US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the fatal crash with reports expected in one or two years’ time.
