The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the helicopter crash that killed Herbert Wigwe, former group chief executive officer of Access Holdings Plc, along with his family and others in February 2024.

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.”

The crash, which occurred near the California-Nevada border on February 9, 2024, claimed the lives of all six people on board, including Wigwe, his wife Doreen, their son Chizi, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc.

The NTSB report revealed that the helicopter company’s “inadequate oversight of its safety management processes” was a contributing factor in the accident. Investigators found that the company failed to ensure pilots properly completed flight risk analyses, recorded maintenance issues, and followed required regulations before departure.

“The pilot likely experienced spatial disorientation while maneuvering the helicopter in IMC [instrument meteorological conditions], which led to his loss of helicopter control and the resulting collision with terrain,” the report stated.

A significant finding in the investigation was that the helicopter’s radar altimeter was non-functional prior to the fatal flight. The report detailed that during an earlier flight, the pilot had texted the maintenance director about an issue with this critical instrument.

“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 report noted. “The mechanic reported that the pilot and the DOM [director of maintenance] were aware that the radar altimeter was not functioning, yet they departed at 1822 on the positioning flight to pick up the passengers.”

The investigation also found that after arriving to collect the charter passengers, the pilot and flight follower exchanged messages but “did not discuss the status of the radar altimeter or weather conditions.”

The helicopter, registered as N130CZ, crashed while operating under visual flight rules in what ultimately became instrument meteorological conditions, requiring different flight protocols and instrumentation. (Text, excluding headline: BusinessDay)