More details have emerged on the ill-fated crash of a chopper that had Herbert Wigwe, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc, wife – Chizoba, son and three others on board.
THE WITNESS learnt that Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), and two others (yet to be identified) were also onboard the helicopter when it crashed in California near the Nevada border.
The United States federal aviation administration (FAA) said the Eurocopter EC130 helicopter crashed around 10 p.m. California time (Saturday, 7 a.m. Nigerian time).
According to KTLA 5 News, a US local media, the chopper took off from Palm Springs but it was not clear where it was headed.
There was a reported rain and a snowstorm in the area at the time of the crash with gusty winds raging as high as 45 mph.
This newspaper gathered that Wigwe’s helicopter and another one were flying towards the same direction at the time of the incident.
While one had Wigwe and his family on board, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Wigwe’s business partner and former Access bank CEO, and Tunde Folawiyo, business mogul, were reportedly aboard the second chopper.
KTLA 5 News added that a medical examiner was on the way to the scene to remove the bodies of the victims.
No survivors have been found so far.
FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be in charge of the investigation and will provide any updates.
Meanwhile, report says Mr. Wigwe flew from London with the party into California but could not continue to Las Vegas apparently because of some schedule hitches.
Consequently, they landed in Los Angeles and hired a chopper to Las Vegas for the annual Super Bowl which he usually attended with his family and close associates.
The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League of the United States.
