Yemi Obafemi
The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has revealed that the helicopter crash which claimed the lives of former Access Holdings CEO, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and three others, was caused by pilot error resulting from spatial disorientation.
According to the NTSB report, the pilot continued flying under visual flight rules despite deteriorating weather conditions, which led to a loss of control.
The report stated: “We determined the probable cause(s) 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.”
The safety board also identified lapses in the operating company’s safety management practices as a contributing factor. These included inadequate oversight of flight risk assessments, failure to log maintenance discrepancies, and non-compliance with Part 135 regulations governing commercial helicopter operations.
The report reads: “The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) 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.
“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).
“According to the flight follower, who also held operational control of the charter flight, during the discussions he told the pilot that the flight could not depart if the radar altimeter was not functioning. 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 pilots 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.
“The accident leg departure was delayed about 50 minutes due to a passenger’s lost passport. A review of surveillance video at the fixed-based operator showed the pilots in the lobby using their cellphones; it is not known if the pilots checked the weather on their cellphones during that departure delay.
“In addition, the pilot did not complete an update to the FRA (which was internet accessible) while waiting at the airport. There was no evidence that the radar altimeter began functioning normally before the accident flight.”
The crash, which occurred on February 9, 2024, sparked widespread mourning across Nigeria and the business community. Wigwe was a prominent banking executive and philanthropist.
