The CEO of one of the biggest banks in Nigeria, together with his wife and son, perished on Friday when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed close to Interstate 15 in the Mojave Desert of Southern California.
Chief Executive of Access Bank Herbert Wigwe was one of the six passengers on board when the plane went down just after 10 p.m. The six individuals that perished were Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former chair of the Nigerian stock market NGX Group, and two pilots.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization and a former finance minister of Nigeria, verified the deaths of Wigwe, his family, and Ogunbanjo on Saturday.
In a message on X, the previous Twitter platform, Okonjo-Iweala expressed her “sadness over the news of the terrible loss of Herbert Wigwe… his wife and son as well as Bimbo Ogunbanjo in a helicopter crash.” “May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.”
Laptops 1000The loss of Wigwe, 57, surprised a lot of people in Nigeria and the banking industry. Having held executive director positions at Guaranty Trust Bank one of the largest banks in the nation, he was regarded as a prominent figure in the sector.
Wigwe oversaw the expansion of Access Bank’s resources and international reach in multiple African nations.
Nigerian presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga wrote on X that his passing is “a terrible blow” for Nigeria and the continent’s banking sector. “Wigwe had a grand vision to make Access Holdings (the parent company) the largest in Africa, with an insatiable appetite for acquisitions,” Onanuga continued.
Wigwe had a wide range of interests, including education. Founded in his home region of the oil-rich Niger Delta in Nigeria, his private university is set to open its doors in September. He described the university as “an opportunity for me to give back to society” last year.
Nigeria’s minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, commented on X, “This is surreal and I am lost for words.” “May the All-Powerful God console his aging parents and brother, his close family members, his employees, his friends throughout Nigeria, and his dependents.”
The accident occurred approximately 75 miles (120 kilometers) northeast of Barstow, close to Halloran Springs Road, south of I-15, according to Michael Graham of the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident.
The pilot and the safety pilot are the two crew members about whom Graham claimed he knew nothing. The aircraft did not have a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder and was not required to have them, he added.
Around 8:45 p.m. on Friday, the Airbus EC-130 departed Palm Springs Airport on its way to Boulder City, Nevada, according to Graham. The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will square off in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday in Las Vegas, which is just 26 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Boulder City.
Laptops 1000It was a charter flight that Orbic Air LLC was running. Graham stated that other individuals on I-15 saw the collision and dialed 911. He encouraged them to get in touch with the NTSB and provide more information, such as images and videos.
Graham claims that at the time of the collision, witnesses said it was raining a “wintry mix.” Additional reports included downed power lines and a fire on the chopper.
This marks the start of an extensive procedure. At a press conference on Saturday evening, Graham stated, “We won’t make any snap decisions. To the relatives and loved ones of those who lost their lives in this horrific catastrophe, he also “expressed our deepest sympathies.”
The crash site is not far from the boundary between Nevada and California.
Travelers are aware of the location of the abandoned gas station where Halloran Springs Road crosses the motorway, which has signs reading “Lo Gas” and “Eats.” Situated at a height of almost 3,000 feet (914.40 meters), this isolated desert region is roughly 60 to 80 miles (100 to 130 kilometers) away from Las Vegas.
Only three days had passed since five Marines were killed when a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter crashed in the foothills south of San Diego under unusually heavy rains.
