I am sorry to inform you that Access Holdings Plc’s group chief executive officer, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, and son, along with Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, were involved in a helicopter crash in California, USA, on Friday.
The helicopter, an Eurocopter EC 130, crashed near Nipton, on the outskirts of the Mojave Desert late Friday evening. There were six passengers on board, and unfortunately, no survivors have been found as of press time.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department was notified of the downed aircraft near Baker shortly after 10 pm on Friday. In a statement, they said, “We are not able to confirm how many people were on board or their names. No survivors have been located.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the crash location near Nipton on the edge of the Mojave Desert Preserve, east of the 15 Freeway near Halloran Springs. The helicopter is registered to Burbank-based tour company Orbic Air, according to NBC.
This incident occurred shortly after another helicopter crash in Pine Valley, California, where a Navy helicopter transporting five troops crashed during a routine training flight.