The Nigeria Safety Investigative Bureau (NSIB) has raised concerns over the findings of the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on the helicopter crash that claimed the life of Herbert Wigwe, former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, along with his wife, son, and three others.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, the NSIB expressed disagreement with the NTSB’s conclusion, which largely attributed the crash to the pilot’s actions.
The bureau insisted that the pilot should not bear sole responsibility for the tragedy, pointing instead to systemic shortcomings that should have mitigated the risks involved.
The NSIB, Nigeria’s multimodal transport safety agency, is responsible for investigating transportation accidents and promoting safety measures across various modes of transport. Its American counterpart, the NTSB, fulfills a similar role in the United States.
In its final report released over a week ago, the NTSB highlighted “pilot disorientation” and the decision to fly under visual flight rules despite poor weather conditions as key factors in the fatal crash.
In response, the NSIB refuted suggestions that it had collaborated directly with the NTSB on the investigation.
It clarified that while it was informed of developments, it did not take part in a joint inquiry. “The NSIB did not work side-by-side with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board,” the statement read, adding, “We were an interested party, and were kept abreast of the process by the NTSB, who led the investigation in the U.S.”
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Just a day earlier, in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, NSIB Director-General Alex Badeh confirmed that the bureau had received the final report from the NTSB.
However, when asked to comment on its contents, he declined, stating that the agency refrains from commenting on accident reports, as their primary purpose is to enhance sector-wide safety rather than assign blame.
Nonetheless, the NSIB later issued its perspective, stating, “It appears there were systemic issues, and the flight risk assessment should have indicated a higher risk. While it’s easy to blame the pilot, there is a system behind the pilot that should have mitigated these risks.”
Back in February 2024, the NSIB had affirmed its full cooperation with the NTSB throughout the investigation into the crash that took the lives of Wigwe and the five others.
