The Nigerian government through the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has joined the investigation of the helicopter crash which killed Mr. Herbert Wigwe Group CEO of Access Holdings and five others in the United States, on Friday night.
Recall that the crash which occurred on Friday, February 9, 2024, at about 10:08 PM. (Pacific Standard Time) near Interstate 15 in Halloran Springs, California, also claimed the lives of former Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Mr. Abimbola Ogunbanjo, Mr. Wigwe’s wife, Chizoba and son, Chizzy.
Speaking after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States announced that it has already commenced investigation into this the incident, NSIB’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mrs Bimbo Olawunmi Oladeji said it has offered its full cooperation to the NTSB in the investigation of the tragic crash.
Oladeji said the Director General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, Captain Alex Badeh, established contact with NTSB, in accordance with Chapter 5 subsection 27 of ICAO’s Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation – Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, which grants a State (nation) special interest in an accident involving its citizens.
The section reads;
“A State which has a special interest in an accident by virtue of fatalities or serious injuries to its citizens shall be entitled to appoint an expert who shall be entitled to:
a. visit the scene of the accident;
b. have access to the relevant information which is approved for public release by the State conducting the investigation, and information on the progress of the investigation; and
c. receive a copy of the Final Report.”