Wigwe’s Helicopter Was On Fire Before Touching Ground – NTSB Official

The helicopter in which the dead Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Corporation, Mr Herbert Wigwe was travelling caught fire before it reached ground, an official of the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB said late on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference monitored by GWG.ng Michael Graham, a member of the NTSB board, confirmed that four passengers and two pilots were on board the helicopter. He, however, said it was yet to get specific details of the crash and that present information was what being made available by some eyewitnesses.

He, however, confirmed that first officials of the NTSB would be travelling to the scene of the crash in the California desert on Sunday even as he refused to name Herbert Wigwe and others as passengers.

He further said that officials of Airbus and other relevant stakeholders will be involved in the investigation.

The Eurocopter EC 130 helicopter was manufactured by Airbus.

GWG.ng reports that the helicopter crashed near Nipton, California, around 10 pm local time.

He further disclosed that based on information gathered that the helicopter was reported to have been engulfed in fire before it hit the ground. There are reports that the helicopter may have been torched after it hit electric cables.

According to him “there was rain with some wintry mist” at the time of the crash in the middle of the desert.

He, however, asked those who have more information on the crash to reach out to the agency through witness@ntsb.gov.

The NTSB board member, however, did not give out the names of the passengers saying that the information about the passengers would be given by the Coroner’s Office, but many reports in Nigeria have named Herbert Wigwe among others as passengers.

GWG.ng further reports that the helicopter was not equipped with cockpit voice recorders as it was not expected to be so equipped.

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