US National Transport Board ,NTSB, has disclosed that the helicopter crash which led to the death of former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, his wife and the former Group Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc ,NGX Group, was as a result of Radar Altimeter Failure which both the pilot and the company knew.
The report further revealed that the helicopter was decommissioned in Indonesia back in 2016 before it was sold.
Also, it has recorded four Radar Altimeter ,RadAlt, issues between June 2022 and the accident day. This is according to the Airworthiness report.
On February 9, 2024, an Airbus Helicopters EC130B4 helicopter, N130CZ, crashed near Halloran Springs, California.
The two pilots and four passengers sustained fatal injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations as a Part 135 on-demand charter flight.
The helicopter departed Palm Springs, California, with a destination of Boulder City, Nevada.
Passengers were Herbert Wigwe, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, his wife, child and Ogunbanjo, the former Group Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc ,NGX Group.
On the day of the incident, the bureau said weather conditions were reported as rain and snow mix in dark night conditions in a remote desert area.
Based on its findings, “The maintenance records showed four RadAlt issues between June 2022 and the accident flight. During the flight from Camirillo, CA, ,KCMO,.to Burbank, CA ,KBUR the pilot texted the Director of Maintenance ,DoM,, reporting that the radar altimeter was not working.
The report added, “After the helicopter arrived at Burbank, a company mechanic troubleshot the radar altimeter but could not get it to function.
“According to the mechanic, both the pilot and copilot were aware that the radar altimeter was inoperative before they departed with passengers on the contracted charter flight.”
Further details revealed that the accident helicopter, an Airbus Helicopters EC 130B4, serial Number ,SN, 4060, was manufactured in 2006 by Airbus Helicopters previously Eurocopte
FAA registration records document showed that the helicopter’s Indonesian registration, PK-CFZ, was cancelled on August 24, 2016.
The helicopter was sold by Strata Aviation LTD to Integrity Aircraft Title Holdings, LLC, on September 2, 2016, and registered as N130CZ on September 15, 2016. The helicopter was sold by Integrity Aircraft Title Holdings, LLC, to Orbic Air, LLC on March 16, 2022.
It further revealed that “FAA airworthiness documents record that the following equipment changes from the original manufactured configuration were installed at the time of the accident:( 13, the KHF950 comm system had been removed and replaced with a Garmin GTN 650Xi nav-comm.
“The Bendix King KR87 ADF system had been removed, a FreeFlight TRA3500 radar altimeter had been installed, 3)the GTX330ES had been replaced with at GTX345 transponder, 4) the battery had been replaced with a Concord RG350 lead-acid battery.”
