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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said it will be a part of the investigations into the crash of a helicopter that claimed the life of Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc.
According to reports, Wigwe, his wife and son were onboard the helicopter when it crashed in California near the Nevada border.
A former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Abimbola Ogunbanjo, was also reported to be on the aircraft.
FAA said the Eurocopter EC130 helicopter crashed around 10pm local time on Friday ( 7am Nigerian time on Saturday).
According to a local media, KTLA 5 News, the helicopter 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.
It was gathered that two helicopters 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 helicopter.
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 provide updates.